Fool's Gold
by Bleak Stranger
Summary: People like to see the genuine article in whatever they look at. They expect see gold, but how can they be sure that this "gold" is genuine? (OC Story)
1. Dream Evil

**BEGINNING OF VOLUME 1**

 **l-|-|-l**

This dream again…?

Why?

Why do I keep having this dream?

It's never a pleasant one. I don't need to be reminded of this particular chapter of my past, there's no way I could ever forget the events of that day. But no, it seems that my brain won't let me get a wink of sleep without reliving this event.

Ah well, I'm here now and nothing I've tried can stop this memory from playing out. Let's get this over with.

Okay, Act 1 Scene 1. The first thing I noticed that night was how cold it was. The familiar sensation of winter air assaulting every part of my body. But unlike all the other times I've been out in the winter, I was chilled to the bone. The warm clothes I usually wore weren't doing their job of insulating me from the harsh cold. A quick feel of my body told me the reason for this: apart from a thick shroud, I was completely naked. What the heck have I been doing to end up like this? Eager to find out, I opened my eyes.

What I saw was quite puzzling, to say the least. The shroud draped over my body was a thick brown cloak, tattered in places, patched up with random bits of cloth and sprinkled with snow. Despite the gravity of the situation, I couldn't help but feel slighted by the shoddy needlework.

As for the rest of my surroundings, I was in the middle of a forest on a particularly dark night. The leafless trees with black bark were slumbering and everything was covered in a light dusting of fresh snow. My body made an impression about an inch or two into the snow if the footprints to my right were any indication. Other than the low howl of the chilly air, I could hear something behind me… gurgling? Growling? Whatever it was couldn't have been a natural sound. I turned around to find out what was making that sound, but all I could see was this strange golden glow shining out through the darkness.

Right behind a shadowy werewolf-like creature with a white bone mask and sharp white claws.

The wolf growled as it swiped its right arm. Looking back now, I noticed how different the sound made by that Creature of Grimm, otherwise known as a Beowolf, was in comparison to whatever that golden thing was doing in the background. But that was the least of my concerns as the claws raked across my field of vision. Everything went back. A painful heat erupted as something warm trickled down my face.

My eyes.

It slashed my eyes.

At first, the younger "me" was too shocked to scream. I wriggled my hands free from the cloak and felt my face, hoping that it was nothing more than a scratch. But pain flared through my head as I reached above my cheeks and nose. I choked back a sob when I felt a loose flap of skin that used to be my lower left eyelid. The screaming started when I felt splintered bone at the bridge of my nose.

The Beowolf made a sound resembling a cackle. My pain and shock was music to its inhuman ears. Howls pierced the air around me, signalling the approach of more Grimm that were drawn in by all the negative emotions my suffering produced. I remember thinking how that was it, I was going to die a horrible death. The beast that took my sight would then rip me apart savagely before the other would show up to join in the fun. Nothing would be left of me but mangled scraps of flesh and bone, barely covered by the torn remains of the cloak atop the red snow.

I could feel the Beowolf's breath as it leaned down to the head buried in my hands. It didn't do anything but occasionally blast me with its hot breath. That was when the younger "me" realised that it wasn't going to kill me to sate its hunger, it was going to kill me to satisfy its sadism. It was deliberately holding off its next attack to study my actions, to terrify me with the uncertainty of when the next blow would be dealt. It knew how certain I was of death and was trying to milk the experience for all its worth.

The monster drew its head away, rearing back to strike me from an angle I wouldn't be able to predict. Not that it mattered, since there was no way I could've defended myself. Either that, or it didn't want me to lean into the next blow and end up dying faster than it would've liked.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

But thankfully, the strike never came. Someone, a woman, by the sounds of things, intercepted the Grimm before it could torture me further. I could hear the sound of a sharp, curved blade streaking through the air which was then followed by a soft thud. The beast barely had time to growl at the new arrival before it was cleaved in two.

"Are you alright…?" The woman asked as she ran over to my side, placing a reassuring hand on my back before she saw just how stupid that question was. "Oh no…"

"Take him and run." Another woman's voice emerged from behind my saviour.

"You! You are-"

"We don't have time for this, Summer!" The newcomer's voice sharply rose. "He's bleeding out fast! You're faster than the two of us. Besides, we can't just leave both of them here to die…"

The woman, who I later learned was named Summer Rose, gasped in surprise. From the angle of her voice, it sounded like she was regarding something in front of me. "Is that really…? Is this boy-"

"Yes. He is." The second of the newcomers, also a woman, confirmed. She had a much calmer, soothing voice than the other. I remember her presence coming as a surprise since I couldn't detect her approach. Thanks to the _many_ replays of this sequence that were forced on me, I managed to detect and study the sound of their footprints in the snow. They were standing apart from one another, but were walking in such perfect sync that the younger me couldn't tell that two people were there until she spoke up. "But sister is right, you need to get him to the hospital fast. We'll take care of Solus."

Solus… whatever it was, it was, in all certainty, the glowing thing in the background. Speaking of which, its weird noises have died down. Guess it was either taken care of or dying faster than I was at the time. Or it could be something else. I dunno.

Summer sharply sucked in air through clenched teeth. She obviously didn't like this situation. Whatever Solus was, she wasn't willing to risk letting these two strangers handle things. But the pained sobs of a child around the same physical age as her stepdaughter at the time were enough to make her reconsider. First I heard the sound of something mechanical folding up to my right, then Summer bundled me up in the cloak, holding me tight to her chest as she picked me up.

"I'll send help!" She promised the two sisters.

"Don't bother about us, get him out of here! NOW!"

After a brief warning to hold on tight, Summer began to run. A few paces later, the air around us began to streak past rapidly as her speed increased. Later on I'd learn that this was because of Summer's semblance, her soul's unique power which granted her super speed. I could feel her dodging and weaving around the snarling Grimm who were advancing on our position, the sharp twists and turns playing havoc with my sense of balance. If my eyes were still intact, I would've been able to handle it. Maybe not the biting wind rushing into my face, but I wouldn't have been so queasy if I could've at least seen what was happening.

This sensation continued for what seemed like an eternity. But ever since I had these memory nightmares, I had the "luxury" of reviewing each step of the way. Summer was running for just over twenty seconds (I think. It's a bit hard to measure time without a watch.) when a loud roar belonging to a bigger, meaner Beowolf erupted from in front of us. Summer yelped in panic, too fast to stop, too startled to change direction before she collided with the Alpha.

"Cover your ears!"

 **BLAM!**

I barely managed to comply with those instructions before that shotgun blast took out the obstacle before us. It was okay for Summer since she was used to the sound of close-range gunfire, but my developing ears weren't so fortunate, even with my hands protecting them. There was nothing but the sound of ringing before I could discern anything else.

"-to the hospital quick, Qrow!" Were the first words I heard from my rescuer to her former teammate. "Hold them off, I'll explain later!"

"Alright then, fearless leader." The gruff male voice belonging to Qrow, which hadn't changed that much when I heard him talk years later, affirmed. "I'm on clean-up duty yet again. You just keep running."

From that point onward, nothing else of any interest happened. I went on dashing through the snow in a one-Summer closed cloak until I arrived at the hospital. She stayed by my side as the doctors slipped me into a bed and carted me off to the emergency wing. The last thing I remember before everything faded was being asked to count to ten as they applied the knock-out gas.

And there we have it. Over at last, thank goodness. I should be waking up any time soon now…

…

…

Come on, I swear I set my alarm. It shouldn't take this long to **BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP**

 **l-|-|-l**

Ugh, shut up.

 **BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP…**

Stupid alarm clock. Just let me sleep…

 **BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP**

I said shut up. Just stop beeping! Don't make me smack the alarm out of you…!

…

Uh, I can't feel it. Where's it gone? I could've sworn I left it on my bedside table…

Oh, right. I usually just turn the alarm off and fall asleep again. Force of habit. To make sure that didn't happen today, I stuck it on the highest of the wall-mounted shelves above my bed so I'd have to stand up to turn it off. Good thinking, me. That'll help to wake me up.

 **BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP**

Alright, alright! Cease and desist, already!

 **BEEP-BE-click**

Ah… Much better. Now I can collapse back into the warm loveliness that bore me through my slee-

STOP RIGHT THERE.

You're supposed to get up early today, remember? Two flights in a row, first one leaves at half-past eight to get you to Vale's main airport, second one takes you to Beacon Academy from there. Miss it, and you'll have a lot of explaining to do to Miss Goodwitch when you show up hours later than you're supposed to. Get up, get washed, get dressed, get fed and get your posterior out of the door ASAP.

With a yawn, I stepped off of my bed, placing the silenced alarm clock on the bedside table. After that, I removed my blindfold and reached for my glasses case, pulling out a pair of frameless glasses with rectangular lenses, green plastic arms and a brass bridge and joints holding it all together. Once all of the sandman's contributions to my slumber were removed, I slipped the glasses onto my face and opened my eyes.

Morning light was sneaking past the gaps in the curtains, barely illuminating my bedroom. The sky-blue paint on the walls helped to brighten up the place a little, giving a clearer picture of my surroundings. The room was quite spacious, obviously intended for more than one occupant. But since there were no other children in the Greene household, I had it all to myself. The shelves on the wall above my bed bore books; mostly fantasy novels, comics and issues of my favourite gaming magazine, along with old toys and figurines from my early years. I had two desks: one for reading, schoolwork and gaming, the other for weapons maintenance. Both were nice, clean and orderly, give or take a few coatings of (regular) dust. All my clothing was split between a wardrobe and a chest of drawers, both of which were emptied out into the luggage sitting in the middle of the floor.

Last of all, there was a full-length mirror next to the door to my en-suite bathroom, through which was my first destination this morning. Before I went in, I did a few warm-up exercises to get my body in gear. A few basic stretches, nothing too strenuous, but it was enough to prep my body for movement. You don't always know when you're going to end up in a combat situation, so taking steps to avoid pulling a muscle when you're running about always helps. After doing the necessary ablutions and taking a warm shower to kick-start my body, I got dressed and inspected myself in the mirror.

For today I wore a plain grey t-shirt worn under a white jacket that featured a brass zip done up all the way to my sternum, brass buttons on the outer pockets and had black faux fur around the cuffs and collar. On my upper left arm was a black armband bearing the Greene family's insignia: a pair of green oak leaves joined at the stems neatly contained within a circle. Black silk gloves adorned my hands; thick enough to protect them from wear and tear, thin and tactile enough for me to interact with whatever I touch. My lower half was clad in black cotton trousers secured with a black leather belt with a brass buckle and multiple holes along the length for easy adjustment. And on my feet would've been a pair of black leather shoes with grey soles and brass lining the lace holes, but since nobody's allowed to wear outdoor footwear indoors, I had to make do with a pair of navy blue closed slippers over my black socks. All in all, it looked like I was dressed as a delinquent dropout.

"Eh, passable. I guess." I muttered to myself with a smirk.

Clothing sorted, I checked the rest of me out. My pale white skin on the places that were visible had no noteworthy blemishes. My thick dark brown hair, two inches in length and cropped around my ears was a wavy mess as always. No comb or hairbrush could ever hope to tame that unruly mop.

As for the damage dealt to my face, it was looking good after fifteen years. My glasses did a good job of masking the pale scar that ran across my eyelids and the small notch in the bridge of my nose. The scar where my left eyelid was reattached was but a thin white crease.

The only notable difference was that my eyes had suddenly changed from pale blue to a silvery-gold. A shame, I liked my old eye colour. And the ability to see without prescription lenses. The doctors say it was a result of the physical trauma, but then there's that glowing gold thing to take into consideration. Was "Solus" responsible…? Meh, forget it. I've spent years speculating, so what's the chance I'd figure out the answer now? Anyhow, thanks to the doctors' quick thinking of unlocking my aura to help with the healing process, you needed more than a quick glance to notice my old wound.

Okay, now to double-check my luggage: One bag for clothes, one bag for school supplies and my personal effects, three large and sturdy locked cases for my weapon materials and Dust collection. All my clothes were packed away, including my Beacon uniform. I chucked my blindfold, toiletries and alarm clock in the bag as well. Oh, and I mustn't forget to take my slippers and spare shoes before I leave.

All of the personal junk I intended to take was present and accounted for in the second bag. I'm well equipped for classes and more than well equipped for lazing about during my free time. My Scroll and wallet were securely stowed in my jacket's inner pockets. Enough cash for a regular day out and all my travel documents were saved digitally on my Scroll.

All three of the large cases were locked up tight with everything present and accounted for. Sure, Beacon supplies tools and materials to their students, but I'd rather use the ones I'm familiar with. Mess up your weapons maintenance and you'll be cursing yourself as the Grimm tear chunks out of your flesh.

Speaking of weapons… it _would_ help if I took mine with me.

I opened the secure locker beneath my weapons desk and took the contents out for inspection. Huntsmen were known for constructing elaborate transforming weapons that were usually the combination of a melee weapon and either some kind of Dust-utilising mechanism or firearm. Or, as the younger sibling of my classmate aptly puts it: "It's also a gun." Combining different weapons allowed for versatility in combat. Not only did it give you options, it could also be useful in manoeuvring around the battlefield, channel your Aura for more devastating attacks, or tie in with whatever ability your Semblance provided. An added bonus was that the weapon was unique to you, and you alone. If someone else stole it, chances are they wouldn't be able to wield it as effectively as you could.

Taking the above into consideration, my choice of weaponry was quite baffling.

First of all, a completely mundane semi-automatic handgun with a few performance-enhancing modifications here and there. It had an angular design, held fifteen rounds per magazine, and packs more than enough stopping power to blow a Grimm's brains out (assuming those heartless monsters _had_ physical brains, of course). The entire thing was matte black, save for the Greene insignia on slide to show that it was mine.

Of course, no sane huntsman would rely solely on a modded pistol as his main weapon, this was just my backup. My melee option was a simple, yet slightly less mundane sword. In its inactive form, it was nothing more than a one-handed sword grip with a brass-highlighted rectangular handguard. The handle, finely sculpted to feel comfortable in my grip, had textured carbon fibre scales held in place with brass screws and a rounded brass pommel that slid open for me to insert the cyan hard-light Dust cartridges that powered the holographic projector. All it took for me to activate it was to disengage a manual safety on the left side with my thumb, then squeeze the trigger that deployed at the top of the grip.

A test pull produced the same result as always: a double-edged glowing cyan blade reaching thirty-two inches in length. I would've taken a few practice swings, but since the floor was littered with my not-so-slash-resistant belongings, I wisely decided to just leave it at the activation test. Normally holographic blades would be a simple wire-frame, but I must've screwed something up when I was tuning it up since the entire thing was glowing. I'd better remember to fix this later, because projecting more than it should isn't all that good for the power cell's mileage.

These weren't the only toys I kept in reserve, I had others locked up in one of my cases. But any more than what I've got at the moment would've been overkill for a simple flight across the channel. Plus, they were just a bit too… awkward to keep on my person. It's for the best that they stay locked up in their reinforced cases for now.

After checking that everything was fine and dandy, I replaced the handgun in its black leather holster and strapped it to my left hip. As for my hard light blade, I deactivated the blade, engaged the safety and attached it to my belt with a magnetic clip on my right hip. The reserve magazines and a few spare Dust cartridges were kept in my jacket's abdominal pockets, on the opposite side to the weapon they went with. This way, I can reload them with whichever hand is free at the time. Neither weapon was inconspicuous in the slightest, but a quick draw's better than the off chance of getting them tangled up in my clothes if I went for complete concealment.

Right, that's the last of it. All that's left for me to do is lug my bags and the heavy cases downstairs, leave them in the foyer and grab me some breakfast. I just hope I don't knock over anything on my way down, leaving broken picture frames and vases in my wake would be bad from my long-suffering bank account. My funds were somewhat lacking thanks to my weapon choices and the price of Dust nowadays (Damn you, Jacques Schnee!).

Before I left, I took one last look at my bedroom. Fifteen years, and now I'm moving out. With the exception of the gaudy carpet that looked like it was stolen from a three-star hotel, the place has changed considerably throughout that period of time. And now it was going to be unoccupied once more. It will be a long time before I come back here… or it could be that I will never be coming back at all. The life of a huntsman is an exceptionally dangerous one. Many have died on the job… heck, many have died before they even graduated from the Academies. That's something I've long since come to terms with.

Still, I can't help but feel a twinge of sadness. Leaving behind my room and the majority of possessions I accrued throughout my new lease of life. I decided to spare another moment looking at the place before leaving, just to ensure I won't have any lingering doubts.

…

Okay, moment over. I'm outta here.

 **l-|-|-l**

After a big bowl of corn flakes with a sprinkling of sugar and a ten-minute drive to Patch's airport, I was standing before the check-in desk. Being a huntsman-in-training meant that I had to put in extra paperwork, show my Huntsman License and endure a short obligatory lecture that while I _was_ permitted to take weaponry onto the Aircraft, I shouldn't pull them out for nefarious purposes or the security systems would zap me before the security crew beats me into unconsciousness, slap cuffs on and hand me over to military cops after we landed to be prosecuted… blah, blah, blah. Seriously, my passport shows that this isn't the first time I've flown to Vale's capitol. Can't Professor Ozpin have a word with the Council to stop us from hearing this inane drivel over and over again?

"…and face prosecution and imprisonment under the Airline Security Act of 53 UE. Do you understand?"

"Of course…" I wearily confirmed.

The holographic check-in clerk gave a satisfied nod with an overly rehearsed smile. Guess the person she's based on had long since grown numb to the tedium of her job. "Okay. That's everything. Head through the corridor to your right to reach Huntsman Security and the departures lounge, you will be leaving from Gate 2. Have a nice flight!"

"Cheers." I half-heartedly replied as I gathered up my stuff and walked away. The good thing about holograms is that you don't need to smile or fake politeness, you can be as blunt as you want without any backchat. It made the whole experience a lot less annoying.

Anyhow, with the tedious part out of the way, the only thing left is my most difficult task so far… saying goodbye to the adoptive parents. They were standing to the side of the check-in lines to give their final farewells for the next four years. They'd never replace my real parents in my eyes, but they've been good to me. A proper parting is in order.

Standing proud at a stunning seven foot two with green eyes, crew-cut brown hair and a stupid grin plastered on his goateed face was my foster father: Evan Greene (Yes, the "evergreen" pun was intentional. I hate his parents for their crimes against good humour). He was wearing a green-and-black tartan shirt over a black tank top, a watch with a metal strap that barely fit around his meaty right wrist, tan cargo trousers and rugged hiking boots. The guy was a giant, both in terms of size and muscle mass. Seriously, just look at him. That shirt and must be bursting at the seams. At least his baggy trousers left a lot more to the imagination… Eugh, why the heck did I think that!? Change the subject! NOW!

Ahem. Next to him was his wife, Ivy Greene. Unlike her bulky husband, she was much thinner and shorter: exactly five feet tall, six entire inches shorter than I am. The height difference between the three of us was quite staggering. I jokingly referred to her as my "mini-mum", much to her annoyance and Evan's amusement. Her appearance was quite noteworthy as well. Despite being in her late thirties, she looked young enough to pass for my older adoptive sibling. And instead of the rugged outdoor hiker vibe her husband went for, she looked a lot more delicate with her emerald green knee-length dress, peridot ivy leaf-shaped earrings, a thin black cardigan and low-heeled shoes coupled with black tights. With her short-cropped black hair, freckles, light green eyes and slender build, she closely resembles the delicate creeper vines that were her namesake. Until they grew to thick, choking tendrils that throttled trees as they matured, that is…

Wow, I am just _full_ of unflattering thoughts today.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a few seconds as I gave myself a mental kick up the pants. This is supposed to be a serious moment, ya moron! Don't let some snide comments cloud your mind at a time like this, okay? Good. Now go talk to them.

"Right then, I'm good to go." I announced as I walked over.

"Are you sure you've got everything?" Ivy asked for the umpteenth time.

"Ugh… yes mum." I groaned. "I've double, triple, quadruple, and quintuple-checked everything. It's all there."

"You've got enough money, right?" She pressed on.

My ears perked up. "Why, have you got some more to spare?"

Evan pointed at me jokingly. "Don't push your luck, kid."

"Meh, worth a try."

"And you are sure you've eaten enough?" Persisted Ivy.

Oh, not this again. "A bowl of cereal is more than enough. There's no way I could've eaten a Full English after you served that joint of roast beef last night."

"Yeah, give the kid a break, Ivy." Evan voiced his support. "He won't get any healthier if you keep on shoving food down his throat."

Ivy fixed her husband with a disapproving glare. "I know that, I just want to make sure that he's ready for this. You know how much I worry about him."

"You and me both." He reassured, gently placing his massive hand on her small shoulder. "I've been worrying for his safety ever since he enrolled at Signal. But there's no need to overcompensate. We taught him how to fight before Tai and Qrow got the chance. He's strong enough to take care of himself. Besides, Ozpin's keeping an eye on things over at Beacon. He won't let anything stupid happen under his watch."

For some reason, that last point didn't fill me with confidence. Ivy, however, finally relented and stopped pestering me.

Annoying though this was, I understand what drove her to act this way. Before I came along, they had children of their own: twin sisters, who, thanks to a Grimm attack, didn't live longer than seven months. Both parents studied at Beacon and were tough as nails, but that didn't ensure the safety of their children. It completely tore them apart.

Ivy was hit the hardest. She put aside her weapons, abandoning her life as a huntress and spent years grieving before I came along. Evan was better at hiding his sorrow, but I could tell from the way he looked at me that he desperately hoped that history wouldn't repeat. Heck, this was the deciding factor on sending me off to train as a huntsman in the first place. Their caution is more than warranted, so I'd better make sure that they're both at ease.

I fixed a warm smile for both of them. "It's just like dad said. No need to worry. You've done all you can, so let me figure out the rest, okay?"

Both of them turned to look at me. The concern never left her eyes, but Ivy placed both hands on my cheeks and looked up to my face, trying to return a brighter smile to the one I gave her. "Look at you, all grown up… It's hard to think that this handsome young man is the same little boy rescued from the woods all those years ago. You've come a long way, Isaac."

"All thanks to you and dad." I added, trying my best to ignore the 'handsome' comment. "Just try not to have too much fun without me, okay?"

Despite her reservations, Ivy couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay, we'll try to behave ourselves."

"C'mere, you!" Without much more warning than that, my foster father wrapped his humongous arms around both of us and hugged tight. Ivy let loose a surprised squeak as she was squashed against my chest, but managed to untangle her hands from my face and returned the hug. I followed suit soon afterwards, giving as much affection as I could muster. They deserved every ounce and more.

…

…

…

Okay, you two can stop hugging me now.

…

Seriously, let go. This moment is going from tender to uncomfortable with each passing second.

"Yo, Evan! Ivy!"

Thank you!

We detached and turned to face the one who called out to them: a scruffy-looking casually dressed blonde guy with a flaming heart tattooed on his right arm and the metal spaulder on the left being the only thing hinting at his profession. He was Taiyang Xiao Long, one of my teachers at Signal Academy.

At his side was a silver-eyed fifteen-year-old girl with dark red hair, wearing a black and red Gothic Lolita ensemble coupled with a hooded red cape and, on her lower back, folded into its compact form was her weapon: the sniper scythe known as Crescent Rose. She was Taiyang's youngest daughter, Ruby Rose.

And at their feet on a lead held by Ruby was their perpetually happy pet black-and-white corgi, Zwei.

"Good to see you, Tai!" Evan grasped the hand Taiyang offered, breaking a few bones if the pained wince on my teacher's face was anything to go by. "Here to see off your little girl, eh?"

"Yeah, ow… Easy on the grip, man." He replied, shaking his sore hand once he got it loose. I couldn't help but snort in amusement and even Ruby tried (and failed) to suppress a giggle at this sight. "Just got done with the paperwork. I did tell you about Ruby moving on to Beacon two years early, didn't I?"

"You did. It's great news!" Ivy replied. "We're just seeing Isaac off ourselves."

"Oh, really?" My teacher's blue eyes turned to me with a raised eyebrow above them. "So, you're finally ready to become a huntsman, eh? Glad to see that all my hard work has finally paid off."

I shrugged. "Eh, I'd say you did a decent job at best, Mr Xiao Long."

"At BEST!?" He feigned shock. Not only was he a good teacher, the guy was so easygoing that we often traded friendly barbs. "Can you believe this guy?"

"Hey, sarcasm is one of the best things I learned from you. You and Qrow sure know how to tear apart a room with sheer- Whoa! Hello, Zwei!" The young pup bounded over to me and leapt up against my legs once he recognised my voice. So I knelt down and give him some affection in return.

"Oh, you know Zwei?" Ruby asked as she walked over to me.

"Met him a few times when he was out on a walk." I replied as I scratched behind his ears and dodged his affectionate licks. "Like that time last week when you and your sister took him out to the park, remember?"

"Huh? I've met you before…?" She studied me with a confused expression, before snapping her fingers once the penny dropped. "Aha! You _were_ there! You're Yang's classmate, right?"

"Yup."

"Sorry, I didn't recognise you because of that outfit."

I stood up straight and quizzically tilted my head at her. "What, the glasses, bad hair and weird eyes didn't stand out enough for you?"

"I know… It's just weird seeing you wearing something other than that pink hoodie you were wearing then. You didn't have any green like your parents, either."

I pointed to the arms of my glasses.

"Oh, right. Still, it wasn't as much as I was expecting back then." Ruby paused for a moment as she studied my face, her finger tapping her chin. "Come to think of it, I do remember seeing you at random times in the past…"

"Yeah, we have bumped into each other before." I confirmed. "But those were brief meetings, I'm not surprised you don't remember me."

"Yeah… though I do remember seeing you spend a lot of time with Yang."

That sentence, like many similar to it, sent my foster parents into a giggling fit. Taiyang shot a glare their way with me following suit. Come on you two, this joke about me Yang having a thing going on has long since worn thin. Give it up, already! The same goes for you Zwei! Lower that eyebrow this instant!

"Well, we are in the same class…" I replied through clenched teeth, before relaxing as I turned back to a somewhat confused Ruby. "Our homes are more or less in the same direction, so we often walked home together from Signal. Plus, we play fighting games a lot."

She narrowed her eyes upon hearing that last bit. "You aren't the guy who challenges her online and wins every time, are you?"

"I don't _always_ win." I hastily corrected, before sheepishly adding: "I just… don't want to be in the same room as her when I do. Punches tend to fly whenever your sister is on a losing streak."

"Yeah. She is a bit of a sore loser." She said sympathetically. Everyone around nodded their heads in agreement. Including Zwei. "Sorry you had to put up with that."

"That's okay, I already know how hard to handle your sister can be." I replied, thankful I wasn't the only one suffering. She gave me a sympathetic smile in return. "Nice though this chat is, what time is it now, dad?"

"Huh?" It took Evan a while to recognise what I was asking, before regarding the timetable above the check-in desks. "It's ten past eight… You have twenty minutes before the Flight leaves."

"Oh no! Security takes forever to get through, we're gonna be late!" Ruby panicked, making a run for the gate before getting stopped by her father yanking on her hood.

"Whoa, hold on speedy! You haven't said goodbye to me yet."

After that, we said our respective final goodbyes to our families. And Zwei. Ruby said a quick goodbye to my foster parents before handing her dad the lead and making a mad dash for the gate. But before I could follow her, Taiyang put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me off to one side.

"Listen, Isaac." He began, lowering his voice to a murmur as he leaned close. "I had my doubts about you when you first showed up, but you turned out to be a good kid. But just so we understand each other clearly, don't try anything funny with Ruby while I'm not there to keep an eye on you, okay?"

I'm sorry, what? "I'm sorry, what?"

I winced as my teacher's grip tightened. "You heard me. Ruby is younger and less experienced than you are, and I won't forgive you if you use those facts to mess with her. Neither would Qrow or Yang. Got that?"

"Uh, sure…?" I warily agreed. "I wouldn't ever dream of doing anything you wouldn't approve of. You're my teacher, I'm allergic to Yang's punches and Qrow's not someone I'd like to cross. So don't worry about me… uh… 'trying anything funny' with your daughter, alright…?"

There was a brief pause as Taiyang studied my response. I could also hear Evan and Ivy laughing their heads off in the background. No doubt they cottoned on to the nature of this talk, but probably thought we were discussing Yang instead. Or maybe they were thinking about Ruby after all, in which case, the implications of me having a thing for an underage girl were most definitely _not_ welcome. After we both shot another glare at the two hyenas (and Zwei), Taiyang let me go with a satisfied nod. "Glad to hear it. Now hurry up, or you'll be swimming to Beacon at this rate."

Well, that was unexpected.

Nevertheless, he's right, I need to be on my way now. I waved another goodbye to everyone as I walked on in the wake of the super speedy teen. No need to rush, huntsman security isn't all that time-consuming to get through. You just have to flash your license, declare what you're armed with then place everything in a tray, walk through a scanner and go on to the departures lounge. I guess Ruby's excitement and nervousness are getting to her at the same time, leaving her on a high of emotions comparable to a young child who's hyped up on sugar (which is probably the norm for her, considering what I know of her diet). Because this isn't as bad as she claimed.

Sure enough, I breezed through security four spaces behind Little Red Scything Hood, losing only a few minutes as I tidied away my toys and ammo after walking through the scanner. Once I was out of the room, a call over the PA system informed me that my flight from Gate 2 would begin boarding in five minutes. The Isle of Patch's airport was not enormous, but since it ferried people to and from the kingdom's Huntsman Academy, it was more than big enough to handle the annual traffic it received. Unfortunately for me, it means I have quite a bit of walking to do before reaching the second of the airport's many gates.

I made it with more than enough time to spare. The passenger aircraft I was boarding was an express model built specifically to ferry huntsmen to their destinations as quick as possible. Every second counted when you were on an overseas mission, after all. Instead of the multiple tiered decks that bore the rows and aisles of seats present on the civilian transport models, this had one deck with an open floor plan. Air travel was smooth and fast thanks to the Dust-enhanced engines, so if you needed a seat, all you need to do is tap a hard light button and one would emerge out of the floor.

I decided to remain standing for this flight, so I went towards the front of the lower deck and leaned against the wall. From there I could watch the scenery zoom by the concave window spanning two thirds of the deck as I listened to music. I pulled my wireless earphones out of my pocket, put them in, opened up my Scroll to start up my easy listening playlist…

"Um… Isaac?"

…aaaand was interrupted by Ruby before I could press play. She was standing there next to me looking a lot more sheepish than she was a few minutes ago.

"Oh, hi again, Ruby." I nonchalantly greeted, pulling out my earphones and stashing them away with my Scroll. "Something wrong?"

"No. It's just… I dunno." She pushed the tips of her index fingers together nervously. "I've made hundreds of trips to Vale in the past. Most of them were with my dad or Yang, but I _have_ travelled across the channel all by myself before. It's just… Well… I'm heading to Beacon two years earlier than my friends. Yang's supposed to meet me at Vale's airport, but until then, I'm travelling with you and the other graduates. And… there's nobody I know here…"

I get it. She's nervous that everyone here would see her as a grade skipper who somehow managed to blag her way into Professor Ozpin's good books. It would be alright if this were a standard chartered flight, but now she's bumping shoulders with the big kids at school. Her nervousness is understandable once you take that into consideration.

So, as the only person she knows on this flight, I might as well do the gentlemanly thing. "Would you like me to hang about until we meet up with your big sister?"

And just like that, her anxiety was gone. "Oh! Really? Thanks a bunch, Isaac!"

"No problem." I replied with a smile, amused by her sudden change in mood. "It would be nice to have some company on this flight."

 **l-|-|-l**

"…and then it was all **KABOOM! POW! ZAP!** when the huntress, Miss Glynda Goodwitch, showed up to help me take down Torchwick. But then he called some woman out who threw some fire at us, but we dodged and started shooting her, but she blocked Crescent Rose's shots with her hand, just like the bad guy with the helmet did in that sci-fi movie my dad showed us when we were little, and then she blew up the roof and both of them got away. After that, I asked Miss Goodwitch for an autograph and she took me to the police station and started yelling at me, but then Professor Ozpin showed up WITH A PLATE OF COOKIES! YES! And then we talked about my training, my weapon, my Uncle Qrow, and then he offered me a spot a Beacon two years early! Miss Goodwitch didn't like it, but Ozpin talked her into agreeing. It took a while to convince my dad, but he eventually agreed to let me go. And then I went home, packed my things, went to the airport and met you-"

"Yeah, there's no need to go over that bit again." I wearily interrupted. "I was there, remember?"

"Oops! You're right." Ruby giggled in embarrassment. "Sorry, all of that happened a couple of days ago. I'm still a bit excited about it all."

After enduring that heavily abridged version of her last minute enrolment, "a bit" was a massive understatement. Truth be told, I didn't need to hear what happened since I already knew the full account of Roman's failed robbery before meeting up with Ruby. I just played along to ease her nervousness (and because hearing her explain it was quite amusing if you could bear with her rapid excitable talking). Getting her to talk would help to calm her down and stop fretting.

We had long since landed at Vale's airport and made our way to the terminal gate for the flight to Beacon. In the time since our departure, we had talked about our experiences at Signal Academy, the time when Ruby went out in the winter to see her mother's grave and slaughtered an entire pack of Beowolves without suffering a scratch, discussed our weapons, endured more of Ruby's excitable gushing over how cool my sword was since I used an old, yet functional holographic system compared to huntsmen who used projectors to conjure up full hard light weapons, tried to unfurl her scythe to show me what it was capable of before I reminded her that security wouldn't appreciate her doing that in the middle of an international airport… you know, regular teenage stuff. It helped to pass the time as we sped across the channel separating Patch from the rest of the kingdom.

But I must say, it sure is taxing trying to keep up with everything she said. Here's hoping I can pass her off to Yang and get a quiet moment to myself.

"Anyway… Where _is_ Yang?" Ruby asked as she surveyed the waiting area as the other prospective huntsmen and huntresses began to board the flight to Beacon. "She told me we'd meet up here after she sorted out some business in Vale, but I don't see her anywhere."

"Me neither." I confirmed. "Maybe she went on ahead of us?"

"My big sis wouldn't just abandon me like that!" She was quick to deny, before a moment of doubt struck. "…Would she?"

Unfortunately, the answer was no. My blood froze as I spotted the blonde menace herself from the corner of my eye, slipping out from the line of other prospective students behind her unsuspecting little sister. Yang put her finger to her lips before grinning like a maniac. She was going in for a sneak attack and didn't want me to spoil it.

I shook my head, pretending (and desperately hoping) that I never saw a thing. "I doubt that. I know from talking to her that there's no way she'd just up and abandon you."

"Yeah… I guess you're ri- Wait, Yang talks about me? With her classmates…?"

Drat. Here I was trying to keep her nice and calm, only for my efforts to go down the toilet thanks to a poor choice of words. Now she's going to start fretting about what Yang has been saying behind her back. Sure, all of her gushing was positive, but that won't help Ruby's self-esteem. She'd probably think that Yang was overstating her awesomeness to others. I'd better dodge the subject for as long as I can.

"Of course she does. You are her little sister, after all. She's bound to talk about you."

"R-right. That does make sense, I guess…" Ruby concurred. She still looked worried, but thankfully not as much as I feared she would. "What _did_ she say about me?"

"Nothing bad." I replied, doing a surprisingly good job not to sound too evasive. "But if you want details, you're better off asking her yourself later on. Specifically, after she pounces in a moment's time."

"Wait, what was that last bit-"

"RUBY!"

"AAAAAAAAH!"

Yang Xiao Long pounced, pulling her half-sister into a bear hug as she flailed her arms in panic. Everyone was drawn to the absurd scene unfolding in front of me. A few of our fellow graduates from Signal chuckled along with me; everyone else was either looking perplexed, annoyed or amused by the siblings' reunion. In particular, the black haired girl with the bow atop her head who smiled at their antics after a brief moment of confusion, and the white haired girl with the ponytail off to one side who just shook her head in annoyance and walked through the gate, stood out the most amongst the crowd of colourful students. Not sure why, but they did.

"It's so good to see you here!" Yang squeezed her sibling tight, nuzzling against her head. "My baby sister has finally come to Beacon with me!"

"Can't… breathe…" Croaked the constricted younger girl.

"Oi, Yang." I butted in. "Touching though this is, you might want to loosen your grip before you crush her ribcage."

"Huh? Oh!" She quickly realised her mistake and let Ruby go before she died. "Sorry sis, maybe I was a little too affectionate…"

Her younger sister was too busy coughing and spluttering on her hands and knees to respond. But after a few seconds, she was back on her feet and then returned the hug with a semblance-empowered flying tackle. "YANG!"

"Whoa!" Yang didn't budge an inch from the impact, she was strong enough to handle her sister rushing at her at the speed of sound (either that, or it was a regular enough occurrence that she subconsciously braced herself). Instead she returned her sister's hug a lot more tenderly than she did at first.

After they separated and regarded each other with a smile, Yang turned to me. In contrast to her younger sister's fashion choices, she went for a "sexy biker babe theme" (her words, not mine). Since I've never seen one of these fabled "biker babes", I'm not sure if one would dress like Yang did. Especially not with long flowing hair like hers or that uneven open skirt thingy. But there was no denying the amount of bare skin that outfit was displaying. It drew a considerable amount of attention to her thighs, midriff and cleavage. She knew how good she looked and flaunted it to the whole world.

Ironically, her outfit actually helped me to ignore staring at those particular parts when talking to girls. I've seen her in that outfit so often that the sight of some exposed female flesh doesn't affect me as much as it used to. Quite useful when talking to girls who wore just as much, or even less, than Yang did. Her long hair, on the other hand, had my full attention. I know how much she liked her frizzy golden mane and had an all too personal experience of her temper when it was damaged, so any encounter after that particular incident put me on edge.

"Hel-lo, Isaac! You been keeping Ruby company on the flight over?" She greeted me, holding out her fistOH HECK NO PLEASE DON'T PUNCH ME!

…

Oh, she just wants a fist bump.

With that embarrassing mental episode over, I nodded, bumping her fist with my own in return. It's a relief that Ember Celica, her shotgun gauntlets, are deactivated. "Yeah, I decided to play chaperone. It was nice to have some company on the flight over."

"Thanks for that. You're a good guy." She gave a friendly smile before turning to her younger sister. "See, Ruby? You're making friends already."

"But he already knows you, sis. That doesn't count." Ruby protested.

"Ooh, that just cuts me to the bone." I hammed up my response for all its worth, pretending to look hurt from her words. "Am I that much of an unlikable person that you'd deny even knowing me?"

"No! It's not that! I mean… Uh… Well…" Ha ha ha! Oh man… It looks like the poor girl's brain is about to explode! "I mean, uh, you're a nice guy. You could be a good friend. It's… AARGH! It's hard to explain, alright!?"

Chuckling at her breakdown, I held my hands up in surrender. "Relax, I'm just messing with you."

Ruby glared at me with an annoyed grumble and a pout. Guess she doesn't like being teased, even if it was all in good fun.

Yang came to my rescue with a pat on her sister's head. "Ah, lighten up, Ruby. Isaac's sense of humour takes a bit of getting used to. I should know, I had to put up with this guy since elementary school."

"Whoa, you've known each other for that long?"

"Unfortunately." I chimed in.

"Whaddaya mean, 'unfortunately'!?" Yang exclaimed, before noticing my smug grin and giving me a playful punch in the shoulder. Once again, I'm thankful for the lack of a shotgun blast. "Oh, you joker!"

"Really should've seen that one coming." I replied, rubbing the inflicted wound to relieve the pain before glancing behind me. "Well, the line's gone down, so I'm gonna go board the flight now."

"You're leaving us?" Ruby asked, surprised by my sudden retreat.

"Don't worry, I'm not abandoning you." Pfft, yeah right. "I'm just giving you and Yang some time to catch up."

"But I've already told her everything…"

"In an excited phone call that barely made any sense." Yang pointed out. "I had to ask dad to give me a digest."

"Ah… whoops."

"But now you're here, I can hear just how awesome my little sister was! Besides, Isaac is going to the same academy as us. Unless we're out on a mission, we'll be seeing him every day. So don't fret about it."

"Oh yeah, that's right!" She snapped her fingers. "I forgot about that. So… see you later I guess?"

"Yeah, see you later, Ruby." I nodded, before waving to Yang. "Catch ya later, hothead."

"Oh, I'm sure you will." She winked. "See ya 'round, Goldie."

…And there goes my good mood.

"'Goldie'?" Ruby questioned.

Yang pointed to my eyes.

"Ohhhh…"

"Yup." I coldly confirmed as I turned around. "Also, please don't ever call me that again."

"Come on," Yang coyly pleaded as I walked away, "you know you love your nickname."

No, Blondie, I do not. And I'm not hanging around to take any more of this abuse.

Like I did for the last flight, I made my way to the front of the Aircraft. It looks like Ruby and Yang are keeping to the middle of the deck, well away from me. After making sure that they weren't looking my way, I pushed the button to deploy a seat, sat down and let out a loud relieved sigh that drew the attention of everyone around me.

"Man, those two sure are hard work."

 ** **l**** _ ** **-|-|-****_ ** **l****

 _ **Author's Note**_

Surprise! I'm not dead! Well, not as dead as I used to be, anyway.

Anyway, Fool's Gold is my attempt at writing an OC story and my first RWBY story to boot. I'll try to write this so it doesn't turn out as bad as other stories like this tend to be. Just don't expect anything groundbreaking, I'm mainly doing this for the experience. Pairings aren't on the agenda, but if I do decide to add them, Isaac x Yang and Isaac x Ruby are very unlikely to set sail.

Instead of writing a plot where the main character is tacked on to Team RWBY and experiences the plot every step of the way with them, I've decided to create my own storyline that follows the tale of other Beacon students. Barring JNPR, CFVY and the occasional encounter with Cardin's bozo brigade, RWBY doesn't interact that much with their fellow students in the show. And since Volume 1 is split over a whole semester and Volume 2 takes place over the course of a few weeks or even a month, it's hard to gauge the passage of time between the first two volumes' episodes. Still, this gives me some freedom to pursue my own plot whilst occasionally referring back to what the show's cast are up to.

Rather than releasing it as one large fanfic, I've decided to split it up into "Volumes" like the show. Should be easier to motivate me to keep the fic going, plus I have an excuse to take a break between each instalment… hehehe.

In other news: Isaac's handgun is based on a Glock 19. You have no idea how long it took me to choose a melee weapon for him, so I decided to be lazy and base his sword on a beam katana from No More Heroes.

Oh, and if you're wondering why I used the term "Full _English_ breakfast" when England doesn't exist on Remnant: according to Yang in Volume 2, Brussels sprouts are a thing. So I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that things like English Breakfasts, Hawaiian pizzas and Jerusalem artichokes are still referred to as such for some trivial reason that doesn't need elaboration. In short: who the heck cares?

Anyhow, here's hoping this one doesn't die before I'm done with it. See ya next time!


	2. Girls Girls Girls

_NOTE: The narration changes to third person when Isaac isn't the POV character._

 **l-|-|-l**

Barring the blonde guy in light armour puking his guts up, the flight to Beacon wasn't that noteworthy.

Everyone was milling about the Flight in their own little groups. Some talked, others broke off to their own little corner like I did. Such as that black-haired girl with the bow I spotted earlier, who was leaning against the wall opposite from me reading a hardback book without its cover. I couldn't make out the title on the book's spine, but whatever it was, it must've been a riveting read. Her eyes barely left the pages.

Nobody talked to me, not even my old acquaintances from Signal. Presumably they saw how drained I was from dealing with Taiyang's girls and wanted to give me some space. Either that, or my earphones were a flashing neon "do not disturb" sign. Fine by me, I could do with some peace and quiet.

The news played on the holographic projectors until Miss Glynda Goodwitch interrupted the broadcast to give a formal introduction as we neared our destination. Hmm, now I've got a good look at her, that riding crop along with her weird cape and office lady outfit makes her look like some kind of classy dominatrix. Or a librarian. A dominatrix librarian, perhaps…?

More to the point, why the heck am I thinking about this in the first place!? She's a teacher, for crying out loud! Banish these impure thoughts at once, mister!

Er, okay. New subject. We've landed, Yang's making a fuss about her boot for some reason, that blonde guy has dashed off to finish emptying the contents of his stomach in a nearby rubbish bin and… Oh, right, my luggage. There are some porters standing by the cargo ramp ready to cart off our stuff to the right place. The white-haired ponytail girl I've seen before seems to be giving them a hard time with her massive amount of luggage. Bet she's gonna hold things up for the others, so I'd better get myself sorted before there's a big queue.

"…Okay, you see these two cases here? They're full of Dust. They're my reserves, so you can chuck them in the storeroom for now. Not literally, of course…. This one's got my other weapons in it… Those two are my clothes and school supplies… Okay, yeah. Thanks for your help."

Well, that was relatively painless. Next stop is the auditorium. Just a short walk along the long pathway leading to the academy…

…

Okay. I'm not easily impressed, but seriously, this place is really nice to look at.

The entire thing was built like a castle from a fairy tale, perched atop the cliff (thankfully a mile or so away from the edge) with the glowing green CCT tower surveying the grounds and the surrounding countryside. Looking at pictures and videos of Ozpin's academy doesn't compare to standing before that towering bastion in person. My pace slowed to a crawl, then an eventual stop. If we weren't in a rush, I'd happily stand here just looking at the place. Heh, if something as mundane as looking at some architecture was enough to keep me occupied, then cramming all that junk into my bag was a waste of time-

 ***clink***

Hm? Was that the sound of chains rattling…?

"You seem to be having fun."

I looked over my right shoulder to see the source of the unfamiliar voice and was greeted by the sight of a dark-skinned girl with a friendly smile, rusty red eyes, thick eyebrows, choppy silver hair and two silver wolf ears atop her head. Well, one and a half ears, the right one appears to have been sliced diagonally up from left to right. The faunus girl is two or so inches taller than me and dressed mainly in black, her legs were adorned by black leather sandals that had silvery buckles, thigh-high red and black striped socks and a miniskirt that had alternating red and black pleats. On her upper torso she wore a black sleeveless top that bore a red howling wolf insignia on the region adorning her chest and had a pair of red and black striped elbow-length knitted fingerless gloves.

Attached to her wrists by a pair of silvery manacles were her weapons, the source of the jangles I heard before she spoke: two metal spheres roughly twice as big as a basketball hanging from each wrist by a length of chain. Both were silver with red claw mark decorations, though the shade of red on the one hanging from her right arm resembled rust for some reason. Each of the chain's links alternated between black and the shades of red specific to each sphere, and I can see the same howling wolf insignia from her top on each ball as they gently swung from the momentum. Those things must weigh a ton, but if the well-defined muscles on her arms were anything to go by, she's more than capable of casually swinging them around.

"Just admiring the view." I replied as I paused my music and took out my earphones.

"I can see that." She giggled. Oh heck, bad choice of words. I wasn't staring too long at her body, was I? "And I don't blame you. This place is rather nice to look at. I can't believe I'm but a short walk from the entrance myself."

Oh thank goodness, she meant the academy. "You and me both… whoever you are."

The faunus girl held out her right hand, revealing that each of her nails were painted silver. The movement was fluid, as if the heavy ball and chain weren't there at all. "Silvia Mars."

Ah, that explains all the silver and red. "Isaac Greene." I shook her hand in return. Her grip was unsurprisingly firm.

Silvia's gaze studied me as we shook hands. "So much brass, and your eyes… I guess that explains why that girl called you 'Goldie' earlier on."

"Eavesdropping, were you?" I asked, narrowing my eyes as I retrieved my hand… No, calm down. She didn't say 'Goldie' in a malicious manner, it was just an observation.

"Well, it was hard not to. Your friends made quite the scene back there." She admitted, and then glanced around us. "Speaking of which, why aren't you walking with them? The three of you seemed close."

I shrugged, glad for a change of subject. "Eh, I'm not _that_ close with them. I've only met Ruby, the younger girl in red, this morning. As for her sister Yang… we've known each other for quite some time now. She's a nice girl. Quite friendly, very flirty… and incredibly scary."

"Scary?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." I shuddered as I failed to suppress the memories. "It was her own damn fault sneaking up on me like that…"

Silvia blinked, her expression changing to one of bemusement.

"Long story." I cut my rambling short with a nervous cough. "One I'd rather not tell."

"I'll bet." She nodded, noting my reaction. "Still, no matter what your relationships are like, Ruby seemed to be a bit sad that you ditched her."

"I know." I admitted as I began walking towards the academy building. "She met a friendly guy to talk with who bolted at the first opportunity. But I don't think I would've gotten the chance to stay with her even if I _had_ stuck around."

My new acquaintance kept pace alongside me. "What do you mean by that?"

"Ruby is one socially awkward girl," I should know, I had to endure her for the past three hours, "and Yang is devoted to her family, her sister especially. One of her priorities would be to help Ruby grow to be more mature and outgoing. And if I'm not mistaken about her teaching methods, she'd most likely try to force her to make friends-"

"Hi Isaac! Bye Isaac!"

"…by ditching Ruby the first moment she'd get." I finished my sentence without missing a beat as the blonde menace sped by surrounded by her adoring fans from Signal and a few bewitched stragglers. I could feel my eye twitching at the sight of her. "And she'd most likely haul me along to get the ball rolling."

Silvia looked on in stunned silence as the stampeding students passed by, then sceptically turned to me as if she couldn't believe how accurate my prediction was. "And you're okay with this… lesson in tough love?"

"As much as I'd rather not deal with her, I'll admit that, most of the time, Yang's right on the money when it comes to dealing with people. And even though I've not spent that much time around Ruby, I can tell that she'll pull through in the end. She's tougher and more tenacious than she looks. I'm sure she'll get at least two or three friends by the time initiation's over and done with."

 **KABOOM!**

…Ruby, I know that explosion was your doing. I'm trying to be nice on your behalf. Don't go proving me wrong by doing stuff like that.

"What was that?" Silvia asked as she glanced over her shoulder.

"Probably the sound of her making friends." Just ignore it and keep walking…

"Really?" She sceptically looked back to me. "Sounded more like a Dust explosion to me."

Rats, she cornered me. Don't let up. "A sign that things are going well."

A few seconds passed as Silvia looked back and forth between the smoking crater and me, until she broke out into amused laughter, smiling at me once she was done. Mission Hope-for-the-Best was a resounding success! "You're a weird one, Isaac."

"What, you only just noticed?" I smiled back. "You don't have a problem with weird people, do you?"

"I would be a hypocrite if I did. After all, how many faunus girls do you know who are willing to start talking with a human they just met?"

"…Very few." I admitted after a pause. I've encountered faunus my age back at Signal, but they were surprisingly hard to talk to. Never mind earning their trust, a simple conversation wasn't easy even after I made it abundantly clear that I didn't have anything against them for being a different race. "Still, does that make you weird for trying to get along with humans?"

"My family certainly think so." Her wolf ears drooped as she adopted a somewhat wistful expression. She gently ran her fingers across the cut right ear while looking at nothing in particular, before returning to me. "But I think that's prejudice talking. After all, I find humans fascinating."

Note to self, don't press her on the subject of the sliced ear- Wait, she said what now? "In what way?"

"Because you're different to us." She stated as a matter of fact, chuckling at my confused reaction. "I know. That's often been a reason for discrimination between our species. We have animal-like attributes and the ability to see in the dark, whereas humans don't. Both are so alike in many ways, yet diverse in others. You see and experience the world around you differently to how I do, and that's what I find so interesting."

No kidding. I've been studying her voice and body language (and put a bigger gap between us to avoid getting smacked by her flails as she got a bit too enthusiastic with her movements) and I can see that she's too passionate about the subject to be making it up. Either that, or she was overcompensating in an attempt not to come across as awkward.

"So, I'm an interesting guy, eh?" I raised an eyebrow, calling her bluff. "That's not something I'd expect to hear from a girl I just bumped into."

"Oh, don't be so full of yourself." Silvia put me down with a wave of her hand. "I meant humans as a whole, not you in particular."

"Aww…" I began, before breaking out laughing. Work on your acting skills, man! That was terrible! "Just kidding. But seriously, why'd you decide to talk to me out of everyone else?"

"Oh that's simple. You have no problems being around faunus."

That's strange; I thought we only just established this by having this conversation. How did she know before we-

"You were happily sitting amongst a group back on our flight."

I was? "I was?"

"What do you mean you… did you not pay any attention to your surroundings?"

I did, but maybe I wasn't that attentive…? Let's try to recap that moment: "Well, I could see there were some other people near where I decided to sit. But I didn't really look at them for a couple of minutes. Then I started listening to music and looking out the window. Couldn't see that much as I was waiting for that guy with the doglike tail and his pals with the lizard scales and the shark teeth to move out of the… Oh. Guess I was." I paused in my tracks and sheepishly smiled at Silvia. "Sorry."

"Don't be." She patted me on the shoulder-ow. That motion made the metal weight attached to her wrist bump into my hip. "You referred to them as 'people' and didn't react any differently. That's more than enough to suggest your feelings about us."

…Well, that _is_ a good assumption to make…

"Anyway," Silvia continued, thankfully removing her arm and the oversized cannonball attached to it, "we'd better get to the auditorium before all the good seats are taken. If the stage is tall, I don't want to end up too close to the front."

"Yeah." I agreed. "I'd hate to get a crick in the neck looking up at the headmaster."

"You're just saying that just because it's harder to pretend that you're paying attention from the front, aren't you?"

"…Yeah. Kinda."

Both of us shared a laugh at my shameless response. A third joined in, and we both turned to the left and saw the girl with the black bow atop her head. When she noticed that we stopped laughing, she looked at us in surprise for a moment before giving a friendly nod and walked off without a word.

I turned to Silvia.

She turned to me.

Both of us shrugged.

Neither of us knew what that was about, so we just continued on our merry way to the auditorium and found a spot near the middle where looking at the stage didn't take much effort. Silvia sat next to me near the end of the row, placing the oversized cannonballs attached to arms either side of her. Yeesh, those things are taking up so much space that I'm practically hanging off the edge of the seat… why couldn't she have chosen a more compact design for a weapon? Or better yet, pack it away before coming here?

…

Sooooo, we're just going to sit here in silence before the speech starts? You know, things would be a lot less awkward if we could talk about something to take my mind off of the uncomfortable feeling of only having one buttock planted on the seat.

 ***clink***

That's the chain attached to her left wrist. What's she-

"Oh, Isaac?" I flinched as Silvia whispered in my ear. "One more thing."

"Yes…?"

"I forgive you for eyeing me up earlier." And with that, she leaned away and kept her eyes fixed forwards with a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

…

Huh. That wasn't what I expected, but at least I'm not thinking of my seating problems anymore.

 **l-|-|-l**

Weiss Schnee was not having a good day.

After finally convincing the controlling tyrant that is her father to let her go study at Beacon by destroying a Grimm-possessed suit of armour his lackeys cooked up, she felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. For the next four years, there will be no more dealing with her father's pushy demands, her poor mother's drunken depression, her unsettling little brother Whitely or those greedy corporate bigwigs who think being nice and subtly influencing her would pay off the day she inherits the company.

She will miss Klein, the head butler, who has been more of a family to her than most of her actual flesh and blood. But hopefully they would reunite when her training is complete and she has made a name for herself as a huntress and the heiress of the Schnee legacy. She would take the same path as her beloved elder sister, Winter, and would come out stronger from the experience. Strong enough to undo her father's corruption and drag the Schnee Dust Company and her family name out of the mud.

However, it seemed that today was a clear indication that the entire world was not going to make this easy for her.

First she had to put up with that idiot in the red cloak making a ruckus in the airport alongside her sister and friend, then she was almost blown up by said idiot after she jostled Weiss' Dust supply (which totally wasn't Weiss' fault, by the way), the only other person who knew who she was turned out to be an advocate for those devious faunus, she had yet another encounter with that red idiot alongside her older sister, was hit on by some blonde imbecile who wouldn't recognise sarcasm if it slapped him in the face with a business card, and now here she is, dealing with the third member of the noisy group.

This bespectacled moron with bad hair was busy unloading all of his weaponry and armour into the stationary locker provided for the initiates. Which was not unreasonable in and of itself, since everyone was expected to offload their equipment before Miss Goodwitch leads them on a tour around the academy grounds. But unlike everyone else, this obnoxious lout was taking his sweet time individually inspecting and unloading a ridiculous amount of stuff from a large reinforced case. And he parked the thing right in front of her locker, which was next to his!

Weiss stood a few feet away, arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently as he leisurely continued to pack away, none the wiser to how he was blocking access to his neighbour. She watched as he put away the two weapons on his person, a cheap pistol and a crudely fashioned hard light blade, before moving on to the rest of his arsenal: a set of bracers, elbow and knee pads, a spare pair of shoes, another pistol, two knives, a rifle that had a mechanically extendable stock, barrel and frame… seriously! How much weaponry does one man require!? And now he's rifling through his case to get out even _more_ things to put away?

That was it. Weiss' patience had worn thin. She marched forward and harshly tapped him on the back. "Excuse me!"

"WAH!"

The boy jolted in surprise, dropping the objects he was currently transferring. He quickly reached out, grasping hold of a small box in his left hand and fumbling for the small cluster of objects that fell from his right.

Weiss' eyes widened as she recognised the objects as they fell towards the ground. They were vials containing powdered black Dust. Gravity Dust. She knew all too well from her years of studying the family trade (and her recent reminder at the dock earlier today) that powdered Dust was a lot more potent and volatile than its base crystalline form and, at that concentration, if all those vials shattered on the ground then everyone in the locker room would float up to the ceiling before Remnant's natural gravity would harshly reassert itself.

Quick as she could, she ducked low and thrust her hands out, grasping at the vials. She managed to catch five of them, but then the bespectacled boy quickly reached down to grab the rest and, while he managed to grasp a few, his sudden movement accidently sent one flying off to the right.

Weiss looked on in horror, and she could somehow sense that the boy was doing the same. They wouldn't be fast enough to catch it. And while the effects of one vial shattering would be less than if all six went, it would be sure to ruin someone's day.

Thankfully, a mechanical hand reached down and caught it in the nick of time. Weiss exhaled a sigh of relief, almost at the same time as the boy she startled.

"That was a close one." He said, putting away the objects in his hand before relieving Weiss of the vials in her hands.

"M-my apologies," Weiss began, trying to compose herself, "I didn't notice that you were unloading Dust. I'm sorry for being so impatient."

"Eh, no worries." Weiss was surprised by how nonplussed he was. "I'd be annoyed too if someone was taking up space with a load of junk. Still, it would've been better if you interrupted me _before_ I grabbed the Dust."

That last remark made her feel guilty for doing exactly what she chastised that red-hooded idiot for earlier today, before she felt his hand pat her shoulder and saw the smirk on his face once she raised her head. "Relax, I'm just joking. Thanks for grabbing those vials, by the way."

"I'm… glad I could help…?" This was a new experience. Whenever Weiss got something wrong, no matter if it was under the supervision of her instructors, her father or even her sister Winter, she always got a strong reprimand for not doing perfectly the first time around. Here, she just put others in danger with her reckless behaviour and this boy's not even mad at her? She couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with the guy.

"…nice catch, by the way."

"I'm just glad I didn't crush it. Took me a while to calibrate that hand so I don't accidentally pulverise everything I touch."

Weiss was too absorbed in her thoughts to realise that the boy had moved on to address the one who caught the last vial. She turned to the third party and saw a skinny young lady standing almost a head taller than the boy with black hair cut into a bob, pale blue eyes, fair white skin, a beauty mark on her left cheek and, most surprisingly, all four of her limbs were cybernetic prosthetics.

The rolled-up sleeves of the sky-blue hoodie which was cropped above her midriff covered up everything from the elbow upwards and her plain black t-shirt didn't reveal that much, so Weiss couldn't tell where the prosthetics ended and the remnants of her arms began. Her legs, like her arms, bore armour plating which was sculpted to resemble the average outline of a human limb, painted the same gunmetal grey colouration with black lines around the seams and ended in five-inch wedge heels, similar to the ones Weiss had, and disappeared into the blue denim shorts she was wearing.

Other than that, her only other notable feature was that her breasts were A-cups, around the same size as Weiss'. But Weiss wasn't looking because she was insecure about her bust size, far from it, as a matter of fact. It was because this girl didn't appear to have a family crest or emblem on her person. She'd expect such a sight from the average person on the street wearing branded clothing. But a huntress-in-training? Such a thing was unheard of.

"I didn't spill anything on myself, did I?"

"Huh…? Oh…" Weiss realised that she was staring too long. "I'm sorry, it's just… this is my first time seeing a quadruple amputee."

"Hm, oh, these?" The girl held her arms wide. "I've been like this since I was born. I'm used to people staring, so neither of you need to be ashamed."

"Right." The boy confirmed. Weiss looked towards him and caught his stoic gaze moving swiftly up from her body and to her eyes. It looks like he was searching for an insignia too. "Name's Isaac Greene, by the way." He nodded to both of the girls.

"Natalie Skye." The girl with the prosthetics followed suit. "But you can call me 'Nat' for short."

"Weiss Schnee." The heiress introduced herself, before turning to Isaac, who was putting away the last of his equipment. "I must say, I didn't expect you to be a Dust user."

"Eh, I've dabbled with Dust here and there over the years." He inspected one of his vials for cracks, before putting it away and grabbing a box of light Dust cartridges. "Mainly use it to power my blade and give me an extra boost in performance here and there."

"How do you mean?" Weiss asked.

"That gravity Dust you saw? It gives a nice boost to my manoeuvrability and a bit of extra force to punches and kicks, if you install it in the right place, that is."

"A bit like me, then." Nat interjected. "These limbs of mine mainly use my body's bioelectricity to power them, but I've got a few injectors full of bolt Dust to give a bit of extra power when I need it."

"Neat." Isaac nodded towards Nat, who gave a sly smirk in return. After putting away the last of his Dust, he closed his locker, closed and moved his now empty case. "I'm done, you can get to your locker now."

"Thank you." Weiss replied, walking forward to hers and began to put away her dust-utilising rapier, Myrtenaster. "By the way, I've noticed that your Dust powder is of fine quality. Did you buy it from my family's company?"

"Whenever I could afford it." Isaac admitted. "Sometimes I've had to buy it from other companies and put it through the grinder again. No offence."

"None taken." Extortionate prices were one of the many changes her father made to the SDC's business practice, as opposed to her grandfather, who wanted to make good quality Dust available for all at a reasonable price. It's no wonder many consumers decided to buy from other sources, which caused her greedy father to buy out these companies until people had no choice but to pay the big bucks for his products. That's one of the many changes Weiss sought to rectify when she would take over as the family head.

"I remember seeing you with a couple of large cases down at the docks." Nat pointed out. "They full of Dust too?"

"My entire collection." Isaac confirmed. "All fifty or so kilos of powdered Dust."

"FIFTY!?" Weiss exclaimed, almost snapping her rapier's revolver chamber shut on her hand. "And it's all powdered!? That's a lot more expensive than crystals! That's more than _I_ bought with me! Whatever do you need so much Dust for!?"

Isaac winced as he looked between the astonished faces of the girls and those who were surprised by Weiss' outburst. "…I, uh, didn't buy it all at once, you know. It's been gradually built up over the past four years."

"But still, fifty freaking kilos?" Nat couldn't help but agree with Weiss on this one. "There is such a thing as overkill, you know."

"Well… you do have a point." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Ten should be enough to last me for a year. The rest of it is just for me to play around with, like compressing it into cartridges or weaving it into clothes… But hey, at least I won't need to buy any more for a long time."

"…I don't know if you're either very well prepared or very bad with money." Nat chuckled as she shook her head. "I'm guessing it's a bit of both."

Isaac chuckled nervously, but didn't answer.

"If you're quite finished, children," Miss Goodwitch called out, grabbing everyone's attention, "then we need to be on our way now. Finish up and follow me."

And with that, everyone began to file out of the locker room. Isaac nodded a quick goodbye to the girls before following everyone else out. Nat decided to join him, walking alongside the boy. Weiss, now over most of the shock, finished making sure Myrtenaster was secure before closing her locker. She didn't know what to make of Isaac. At first she thought, by association with that red dimwit and her sister, that he would be another troublemaker. After talking to him for a bit, he seemed like a narrowly focused, pragmatic individual with a kind streak, but what she heard about his Dust collection made him seem like a fool who somehow managed to make a good situation out of his blunders. First that blonde dork, now him? What is it with all the boys in this academy!?

Still, at least he was better than that Jaune fellow she ran afoul of earlier. Isaac didn't try to hit on her or butter her up once he found out who she was, like so many others who wanted to "be her friend". Plus, he was honest and polite about her family's company, unlike that black-haired girl. It's rare to find someone like that nowadays. Weiss couldn't help but smile as she walked on. At least there was _one_ person in this academy who wasn't a complete and utter dork…

 **l-|-|-l**

Oh man, that sure was a wild experience! First I almost caused a bigger accident than what happened with Yang's hair (brrr, why did I have to remind myself about that!?), then I'm approached by Weiss Schnee herself and a cyborg… both of whom had many of the things I looked for in a girl. Keeping my mind focused after experiencing two shocks in a row was quite the challenge, let me tell you. Ah, flat-chested girls… I do love 'em. They haven't got much to distract you from the things that truly matter…

Anyway, as for said cyborg… Nat's quite the mystery. We haven't interacted that much, but she seems to be willing to accompany me for the tour. Why, I do not know. Maybe because she's afraid I'd cause some other disaster if she isn't there to prevent it. Or maybe it's because she caught me staring at her body (intentionally, unlike Silvia) and is trying to trip me up by provoking a reaction. Whatever the case, it's nice to have some company that isn't Yang, who seems to be keeping her distance and cheekily grinning at me whenever I catch her eye. I'm not sure if I should be glad or worried about this.

Oh, right, the teachers are talking and I'm not paying as much attention as I should on this little tour.

"…and then, grabbing the Ursa roughly by the scruff of his neck, I, with great strength and manly power, proceeded to give the miscreant a damn good thrashing! Oh, that was a lesson it surely would not be forgetting anytime soon… if it didn't die in the process, that is. But I digress, the really interesting part is when…"

…but can you blame me when the only other option is listening to this fat old bore drone on and on? Even Miss Goodwitch looked exasperated by her colleague's long-winded introduction to his Grimm studies class.

Other than this, the rest of the tour was great so far, barring the occasional stink eye Miss Goodwitch kept sending my way. What's up with her? Does she have mind reading powers alongside her telekinesis which she used to find out about that "dominatrix librarian" train of thought I banished earlier…? Man, I really hope not. Regular teachers with eyes in the back of their heads are bad enough.

Our first stop was the combat arena, right next to the locker room. Sure was an impressive place. A nice wide-open circular area with amphitheatre-like seats for the other students to observe behind the safety of energy shields. The building also had a gymnasium, firing range, shower blocks and a few smaller arenas outside where you could practice if the main building was taken up. A couple of second-year teams were doing some hand-to-hand sparring when we passed by. They paused to wave at us before getting right back at it. I feel sorry for the guy in red sparring with that fashionista chick with the snazzy beret and sunglasses. Getting kicked by someone in stiletto heels is quite painful, let me tell you.

Next door to the arena was the infirmary. A place more than capable of treating any wound inflicted by Grimm or careless student. The place looked nice and clean, well-staffed by experienced doctors and medics and the beds were comfy, according to the third-year student occupying one of them. Apparently, she wasn't in here due to a combat wound, but because of something that involved a bottle rocket, a thermometer and a piñata. Nobody dared to ask for clarification.

Then there was the ballroom, next to the auditorium we were in earlier today. A nice, spacious open floor plan with a stage and balconies above. Other than gatherings organised by the school and extracurricular groups, it wouldn't get that much use from its students. Oh, and we'll be bunking up here tonight. A night in a sleeping bag on a futon mattress with a bunch of other twerps snoring and farting all around you… deep joy. Makes me wonder if this is an incentive to pass initiation. "Beat up a ton of Grimm while performing some as-of-yet-unspecified task and win yourself a night in our luxurious dorm rooms for the next four years!" Pure marketing genius. It certainly has me interested.

We were also showed the cafeteria. A hall as big as the auditorium with rows of benches and tables down the entire length of the place. The place was closed up and being cleaned by the time we got there, but the catering staff were kind enough to talk us through the various nutritional meals we would be served to ensure we were well fed. They also let us study the menu for tonight, leaving most of us salivating in anticipation. Either that, or they didn't have lunch before the flight over as most of us did. Poor saps.

Next, we were shown the dorms where we would be staying (if we passed initiation, that is). The rooms were nice and spacious, four beds, two desks by the door, an en-suite bathroom and a bookshelf, chest of drawers and closet for storage. Everything you and your fellow teammates needed to get through four years of advanced combat schooling. We were also shown a student lounge. Each floor of the dorms had one and apparently they were all the same: a kitchenette, an oven, a large fridge/freezer combo, a nice open seating area and, most importantly, a kettle and an endless amount of tea and coffee. Oh yes, I think I'll enjoy my time here (if I passed initiation, of course).

And, finally, we made it to the main school building. A wonderland of lecture halls where we would spend our days cramming our heads full of knowledge 'til they burst at the seams. First stop was the history classroom where the caffeine-overdosed Professor- sorry, _Doctor_ Bartholomew Oobleck gave us a very quick crash course of what we'll be learning in his lessons. A _literal_ crash course, mind you, since he didn't look where he was going and tripped over a discarded coffee mug. Miss Goodwitch was not happy with him smashing a desk, causing her to use her telekinetic powers to piece it all back together. She then threatened to get the janitors in to clean the place up, which raised Oobleck's green hackles.

"But Glynda, you can't send those philistines in here! The last time they came in they mistook my notes for trash and I lost three days of work! THREE! WHOLE! DAYS!"

"Remind me never to bring a cappuccino into his classes." Nat whispered to me.

"I don't think it would make much of a difference." I whispered back. "Whatever he's taking is much stronger than that."

Next stop was the field survival lecture hall, where Professor Patricia Peach resided. Well, I say "lecture hall", the place was more like a greenhouse. One humid greenhouse full of poison ivy and many different species of cactus and weeds that could give us A HORRIBLE AND DEBILITATING DEATH IF HANDLED IMPROPERLY. So we wisely kept our hands to ourselves and everyone with uncovered arms and those wearing shorts or skirts (barring Nat, of course) had to make sure their limbs didn't get scratched. At least the professor actually looked like a professor, standing there in her long white lab coat over a plain white blouse, tan slacks, brown leather shoes, a disposable respirator over her mouth and nose and a pair of safety glasses perched atop her peachy hairdo which was tied into a braided bun. Even if she was a bit mad, Professor Peach was more than qualified to teach us how to survive in the wild if we were cut off from civilisation.

"By the way," she added after her piece was finished, "if anyone feels woozy or light-headed, don't worry. That's probably the moisture vapour produced by the Vacuo narco-weed, otherwise known as Vacuous Narcolepticus. Some of its toxins leech out as it respires, but you have nothing to fear. Why, one plant by itself barely expels enough to make a mouse fall unconscious!"

 **THUD!**

"I stand corrected."

Everyone practically bolted for the door once Miss Goodwitch called for the paramedics and said we were moving on.

Next stop was where we were now, the Grimm studies class where the dreaded Professor Peter Port (what's with these alliterative names?) lurked. He started out well enough, giving a good explanation of what we would expect from his classes. Unfortunately, he went off on a tangent and was currently boring us with one of the many exploits of his youth.

"…what's more, my dear friend wasn't sober enough to realise that he had a prize-winning leek shoved right up his-"

"Yes! Yes, thank you very much, Peter." Miss Goodwitch thankfully interrupted.

"…nose."

"As much as the initiates and I would _love_ to stay here and listen to your past exploits, we have a strict timetable to keep to."

"But Glynda, all that's left is the library and the two workshops. I'm sure all of these fine, upstanding young people know what a library looks like."

"I don't." I heard some guy mutter, followed by a round of sniggering from his friends. I looked over to him and- ye gods, he has a worse hairstyle than mine! And I don't _have_ a hairstyle!

"Mister Thrush's disturbing lack of knowledge aside," Miss Goodwitch continued, silencing the four louts with her impressive hearing skills, "I still need to show them the Dust and weaponry workshops. It is an essential part of Beacon's curriculum."

"Hmph Fine!" Professor Port crossed his arms in a huff, "I'll just have to save the rest of my story for next time."

"And I'll have to remember to buy ear plugs." Pfft, ha! Good one, Nat- No! Don't laugh out loud! You don't want to suffer the same fate as those four chumps, so keep the giggles under wraps.

And on that- hehehe- BEHAVE YOURSELF! And on that note, we were on the way to our second-to-last stop on the tour: the workshops. A short walk down the hall to the other end of the building and… whoa. The word "workshop" hardly does them justice.

The one dedicated to weapon maintenance and building was full of every tool you could imagine (give or take a spanner). Ruby was practically drooling puddles as she zipped from workbench to workbench, studying each and every machine, forge, corkboard and bookshelf there was to study, played with the schematic software on one of the computers and actually had to be restrained by Miss Goodwitch's semblance before she could dive head-first into the parts storage room. That was quite a sight.

As for the Dust one… whoo baby, that's a lot of expensive gear! Leaps and bounds over the stuff I have been using for my silly little experiments. Miss Goodwitch was prattling on about something concerning a substitute teacher arriving soon, but I was too busy imitating Ruby to care. Just look at all this cool stuff: mixers, synthesisers, grinding mills, sewing machines… Way better than the hand-cranked nonsense and that puny hollow needle I've been using all this time. Heck, I was still mesmerised after we were let loose to inspect all of this stuff. Under supervision, of course. Nobody wanted a repeat Ruby incident, especially not in here. One explosion was more than enough for today.

My first stop was at one of the sewing machines. Nat looked on in interest (or bemusement) as I fiddled with the settings, checked the intake funnel and gave a few investigative pulses of the peddle. Oh yes, this was going to make weaving Dust into fabric a lot more efficient than what I've been doing lately.

"Oh-ho! A man working a sewing machine? 'Tis a rare sight, indeed!"

Gah, not again! Don't the words "volume control" mean anything to you people-

…

Evan? Is that you..?

No, of course not. He has never been so smartly dressed, nor does he have long blonde hair. Oh, and he doesn't have boobs.

The loud girl in question was quite tall, towering way above Nat. If I had to guess, she was probably touching the seven foot mark. That wasn't the only reason I initially mistook her for my foster father, for she was quite muscular as well. Not to the ridiculous extent he was, thank goodness, but enough to be prominent beneath that suit she was wearing. Speaking of the suit, I didn't know if she was planning to become a huntress or an Atlesian aristocrat. Black waistcoat with a brass pocket watch on a chain, red dress shirt, white cravat with a blood-red gem on a broach pinned to the knot, her trousers and open blazer were both a pale orange and she had a pair of black leather low-heeled boots on her feet. An insignia, depicting what appeared to be a circle divided into six segments with two teardrop shapes by the bottom left was embroidered in gold thread on her blazer's left breast.

As for the rest of her, both of her hands (which were smaller than I was expecting, but not by much) were placed on her hips, her blonde hair, unlike Yang's messy 'do, was neatly styled to resemble a lion's mane, and her eyes were red. Though instead of a rusty red like Silvia's eyes, hers were more like the pinkish-red you'd see in the middle of a grapefruit.

"Trust me," Nat spoke up, gesturing to everyone looking our way, "you're not the only one shocked by this sight."

"Hey!" I interjected, doing my best to ignore the small audience. "What's so shocking about me being able to operate a sewing machine!?"

"Nothing at all!" The new girl loudly replied with an amused grin. "I was merely commenting on the rarity of the sight! In fact, I find it commendable to see a man willing to engage in textile work!"

"This is less 'textile work' and more 'hazardous materials handling'." I rightfully pointed out.

"Bah! 'Tis but a small difference! If you can work Dust into your clothes, you can work patterns into fabric!"

Ugh… I don't know how much longer my eardrums can cope with her loud way of communicating.

"Oh, where are my manners?" Good question. "Allow me to introduce myself: Regina Blut, at your service!"

Nat and I both exchanged our greetings in return.

So, her surname is "Blut", eh? If I'm not mistaken, that word means "blood". I guess that explains her eyes, the red shirt and broach. But what's with that orange suit? What does that have to do with-

Oh.

Ohhhhh.

AAARGH! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?

Red interior. Orange exterior. Circle with six segments. She's dressed like a friggin' blood orange! Yet another thing she has in common with my foster father. But this fruit-based pun is _way_ worse than that "evergreen" pun his unfunny parents saddled him with!

"Uh, Isaac?" A concerned Nat prodded me in the arm- ow. Metal fingers. "Are you okay? You've been staring off into space."

"Hm? Oh, sorry. I didn't get much sleep last night." Always a good excuse to fall back on, especially when you rub your eyes for added effect.

"Well, in that case it is probably for the best that you are not working on anything at the moment." Regina pointed out, surprisingly less bombastically than she was speaking a few moments ago. "You might have accidentally sewn yourself into the machine. You should avoid wearing faux fur or anything loose on your cuffs when operating machinery such as this. Accidents will be less likely to occur when you take the appropriate precautions."

"You seem… quite knowledgeable on this subject." I pointed out. Am I even talking to the same shouty girl who introduced herself a moment ago-

"Indeed!" Yeah, I am. "For you see, each and every member of the Blut family descend from a long line of… tailors!"

"…Tailors, eh?" Nat broke the stunned silence pervading the room. "And you decided to become a huntress instead."

"While I am the eldest child, my family graciously agreed to let my younger brother take over the business while I apply my talents in this field of work! It was for the best, for his hands are a lot more delicate and steady than mine could ever hope to be!" With muscles like that, I'm inclined to believe her. "That being said, Isaac my dear fellow, do not be afraid to consult me for advice on this subject. I am more than happy to aid a fellow tailor in their endeavours."

"Well, I'm not much of a tailor, but I'll keep it in mind." I smiled at my new… uh, acquaintance? Comrade in arms…? Hard to know what to refer to her as.

"Splendid!" She overenthusiastically clapped her hands together in response. "Well then, I should not take up much more of your time, there is still a window of opportunity to inspect each and every apparatus around this room before we move on!"

"Okay then." I stood up from my seat. "Talk to you later Regina."

"Bye Reggie!" Nat waved.

"Do not call me 'Reggie'!"

Okay, enough playing around with the sewing machine, there's a lot of other stuff for me to check out in this room. I think I'll take a look at one of the grinding mills next. Maybe I'll get a chance to see how well it reduces crystals down to their powdered form- Okay, seriously, what's Yang grinning at me like that for!?

"Excuse me ladies, I may need to go and kill someone." I said, pushing my glasses up at the bridge while advancing towards my newly acquired target. Normally I'd never approach this menace unless it were absolutely necessary, but I need to find out what is making her giggle like a schoolgirl… Wait, she _is_ a schoolgirl- ah, forget it. "Mind telling me what you find so funny, Hothead?"

"Eh? Oh, noooothing." She coyly teased. "I'm just amazed to see how busy you've been ever since we've got here."

"And by that you mean…?"

"Why, every time I've seen you today, you've had a new girl hanging off your arm. Even that Schnee girl, you eager little boy, you. Quite impressive, if I do say so myself."

What. Just what is she talking about? "…First of all, they were not 'hanging off of my arm' as you could plainly see. Secondly, _they_ were the ones who approached me. Thirdly, don't mistake my friendly interactions with girls for me chatting them up. I'm not as sex-crazed like a certain someone I know, _Yang_." I emphasised that last word by prodding her in the shoulder.

She laughed in response. "Could've fooled me. Be honest, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You like the attention, but aren't willing to commit. It's just like Signal all over again."

"Wrong on all accounts." I flatly denied. "You're reading too much into things as always."

"Oh, am I? I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see." She winked at me before walking off. "Later, playboy."

I shook my head in exasperation. Good grief, just what is her problem? If she's not punching me through reinforced walls or claiming I'm cheating at fighting games, she's mercilessly teasing me by blowing perfectly innocent things out of proportion. I mean, seriously, it's not my fault if people want to talk to me of their own volition, is it? Even if most of the people I've encountered today are girls, the fact that I've never had a girlfriend should be proof enough that I'm not doing this stuff on purpose.

Besides, why on earth would any of these girls just approach me out of the blue? It's not like I'm that much of an interesting guy.

 **l-|-|-l**

CONNECTION ESTABLISHED

"Supervisor 01 on the line. Go ahead K9."

"Target has arrived in Beacon. He's finished the tour of the academy grounds with the rest of the first-years and is currently having dinner with all the other students."

"Have you made contact with him?"

"Yes. The guy's surprisingly easy to approach. Didn't treat me any differently from the other girls he's been chatting up. Affable, some playful prodding here and there, but not as hostile as predicted. I thought you warned me that he would be like Solus in temperament?"

"We expected him to be so due to predictions based on our past data. But I will admit, it's surprising to hear how differently he's developed. Also, you're sure he doesn't resent your or anyone else's attempts to talk with him?"

"If he does, then he's very good at hiding it. Or he's a lot more stable than Solus ever was."

"I see… Try to become friends with him if you can K9. We'll need more data before we can figure out what's what with him."

"Roger that. Guess all those years of keeping an eye on him weren't so fruitful, eh?"

"We could only observe so much without being discovered. Since this is the first time we'll have more direct line contact with him, we can't let this chance slip by. So just stick to the plan and send further reports whenever you get the opportunity."

"Understood. I'll glean what I can from him."

"Perfect. Supervisor 01, over and out."

END TRANSMISSION

 ** **l-|-|-l****

 _ **Author's Note**_

And here we have Isaac's future teammates, all of them are girls. Should be more interesting than a team of all guys, three guys and a girl like BRNZ or an even split like JNPR. Outside of the fan-made visual novel JPDE, I haven't seen that many OC teams with this kind of structure before. So this should quite an interesting exercise.

As for the girls themselves, I based Silvia off of Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus. Part wolf to show off the upbringing of Rhea's children, one of her flails has a rusted design to signify the death of Remus and Mars is her surname to reference the father of Rome's founders. Visually, I based her on Naraku from Senran Kagura. Although unlike her, Silvia doesn't have ankle-mounted flails and I dyed the hoodie blue and gave it to Nat instead. Speaking of which, other than Nat's status as a quadruple amputee with four cyborg limbs (something I'd like to see in RWBY proper), there isn't much to suggest what's up with her. Yet. As for Regina, I based her off of Leo Whitefang from Guilty Gear Xrd. Large and bombastic with a lion-like motif… she has everything but his arrogance and weapon choices.

The tour of the facilities was written because, logically, the new students had to have done _something_ in the cut between the auditorium and bunking up for the night in the ballroom. I decided that this would be a good way to fill in the blanks.

If you're wondering why I made Professor Peach the field survival teacher instead of the Dust teacher like so many other stories do, I based it on the fact she requested a group of first-years to get the red sap from Forever Fall in the show. What would someone who teaches Dust usage need so many jars of tree sap for? It could have been used as some kind of mixing agent, but I reckon that it's more plausible to assume that it has medicinal uses. Or it could be Remnant's equivalent of Maple Syrup. Who the heck knows? Anyway, the students need _someone_ to teach them how to survive in the wild, and Peach seemed like the right person to pick for me.

As for that last little bit… I'm not telling.

See ya later!


	3. The Last in Line

Ah, there's nothing like a good night's sleep to get you prepared for a violent foray into a Grimm-infested woodland… It's too bad that I didn't get anything _close_ to a good night's sleep.

I know I may have to make do with worse in the future given my chosen profession, but a sleeping bag coupled with a cheap inflatable mattress on a hard floor isn't the most comfortable of supports you can get. Nor was having to deal with the guys next to me snoring their heads off. Or me, despite my best attempts to put them out of my mind, still mulling over Yang's unhelpful comments from earlier that day. Or suffering the same. Freaking. Nightmare. For the umpteenth time in a row. And that's not getting into the most annoying reason I was worn out: three bickering little girls. Ruby, Yang and Weiss engaged in a free-for-all shouting match that required Miss Goodwitch to intervene and send them back to their sleeping bags. For goodness' sake, what do I need to do to get some shut-eye for once in my life!?

Now that tomorrow has come, my eyes are still holding on to their heavy baggage, I'm only a _bit_ less sleepy than before and since the early risers took up the few bathrooms separate to the dorm rooms, we had to take turns using them. The dominatrix libra- uh, I mean, Miss Goodwitch. I've really got to stop giving her that nickname… Anyway, she supervised us as we rotated in and out, making sure that boys and girls didn't mingle unless circumstances forced it. Awkward though it was, I'm just glad the interior designer put a privacy wall that masked the shower from the large mirror spanning the wall above the sinks. The plumber, on the other hand, deserves a punch in the face for not installing a proper mixing valve. Getting doused with cold water whenever somebody flushed the toilet was _not_ a fun experience.

Ah well, it's nothing a good breakfast with a large mug of tea couldn't fix. I must've drawn a few looks from the other students when I walked by with a tray holding a mug and a teapot full of said heavenly elixir, a really heaped bowl of cornflakes sprinkled with sugar and a plate of unbuttered white toast with strawberry jam spread on each of the four slices. Almost as many looks as the short redhead girl at the other side of the dining hall who devoured a massive stack of pancakes in four seconds flat without missing a beat of her conversation with her gloomy friend with the pink highlight in his black hair. Poor guy looked like a mirror image of me after waking up. He didn't appear to be drinking anything caffeinated, so his hyperactive friend must've been his method of getting his brain in gear. If it was, it obviously was a slow-acting process. I haven't seen him utter a single word in response. No matter his relationship with the girl, I couldn't help but pity the guy. I have no idea what it must be like to put up with someone so emotionally taxing day after day.

I managed to polish off my breakfast in peace. I'd half-expected to be accosted by any/all of my three new female friends as I plonked myself down, or, if fate were particularly sadistic, Yang. But thankfully, I was spared the hassle of dealing with someone while I was still tired out of my mind. Along with the fact I looked ready to fall unconscious at a moment's notice, once again, my earphones helped to send a clear "do not disturb" message to all enquirers.

And now here I am, in the locker room getting ready. My combat outfit was only slightly different to what I wore yesterday: my flimsy frameless glasses were swapped out for a sturdier steel-framed pair, the t-shirt was swapped for a short-sleeved polo shirt and my arm band was gone. Being able to loosen my collar if it gets too hot under there is a nice perk, and while it may seem disrespectful to the Greenes for not taking their coat of arms into battle with me, I'd rather not wear something that could get in the way if I need to rip my jacket off in the hurry. Really should get a badge sewn on instead. I wonder if Regina takes requests…?

Before I grabbed my weapons, I took my jacket off and put my armour on. Out of all the lessons I were taught at Signal, information about your body's limitations were the ones that stuck with me the most. Punches and kicks had the chance to break the bones in your hands and feet if you don't use the correct technique or check where you're punching. And after learning just how vulnerable my joints were, aura or no, I decided to take precautions by wearing pads. As I tend to lean more towards elbow and knee-strikes, I figured I might as well use my armour to add a little extra to my blows. After they were on, I fixed the bracers on my arms. While I would've preferred gauntlets, operating guns and my sword gets a bit difficult when you can't fit your fingers through the trigger guards.

After everything was securely attached, I put my jacket back on. Any onlookers would be quite puzzled as to why I wore my knee pads over my trousers while my elbow pads and bracers were _under_ the jacket, since everyone knows that armour was supposed to go on the outside to ensure maximum protection. The answer? Concealment. My jacket was baggy enough to blur the outlines of my protection. Plus, that faux fur on my cuffs was quite good at hiding my bracers from view. Nobody would know I'm protected until they hear an unexpected "clang!".

Now then, weapons. Nobody on the faculty let slip what we were supposed to expect on our little romp through the Emerald Forest, so I decided to stick with my old faithfuls. Despite taking the opportunity to tinker with it yesterday evening, I still haven't found out what caused the problem with my holo-sword. I'll need to be a bit more careful about how many times I deploy it if I want to get the most out of its battery life. Better take a few more Dust cartridges, just to be on the safe side. The handgun's still in good nick. I just wish I didn't have to manually reload the rounds back into each magazine after I removed them last night to stop the springs from degrading. One of the downsides of having a semi-automatic…

Oh, and on top of these two, I decided to go a step further and take a couple of extra things with me: my utility knife and a spare holo-sword. If there's one thing the new parents have impressed on me it's "never go anywhere without a knife". I've carried the utility knife Ivy gave me as a birthday present wherever I went because the thing is so darn useful to keep on hand. All those woodcraft skills could mean the difference between life and death if you apply them correctly. That being said, it's called a _utility_ knife for a reason. The thing would break if I tried to use it to kill a Grimm. I don't expect to get stranded in the woods for any longer than the teachers expect us to be… but you never know. As for the backup sword… unlike my more rugged main blade, this one was a lot more bare-bones in comparison. Nothing more than a knife handle with a brass guard that projected a shorter wireframe straight blade. I don't like using this one since you can only toggle it on or off, as opposed to activating it the moment I squeezed the trigger on my main blade. Meh, at least the projector works as intended, so it's in no danger of guzzling up my Dust cartridges.

After a quick inspection, I deactivated the spare sword and stashed it in my jacket's left slip pocket behind the abdominal while the sheathed utility knife went in the right breast pocket. Okay, now to load up on ammo and Dust cartridges… done. Everything's in place and I have taken more than enough to cause a little mayhem.

"I'm surprised." A familiar voice commented as I shut my locker. I turned to the left and saw Weiss Schnee, arms crossed and curiously looking at me. "That's all you're taking with you? Given what I've seen you putting in there yesterday, that seems a little underwhelming."

"Really? Well I- ah, 'scuse me." I stifled a yawn and rubbed my eyes. Probably didn't do much to help, given how I often look like death so soon after I wake up. Still, better than being inconsiderate in front of a lady. Even if that lady was responsible for my tired state… "Sorry, didn't get much sleep last night… Anyway, what exactly did you expect me to take?"

She grasped her chin between her right hand's thumb and forefinger. "Well, the rifle, for one, looked like a prime candidate your main weapon. Other than that… I'd say something that utilised Dust. Apart from your sword, of course. You _did_ say you were experimenting with it, so I expected some kind of powered weapon or system. Maybe a few clips of Dust rounds. Frankly, what you've got appears to be rather… mundane."

Oh, you naïve little lady. I shook my head, warmly chuckling as I unclipped my inert sword from my belt and held it out to her. "Here, take a closer look."

"Hmm, the construction may appear to be crude at first glance, but it is actually rather refined and STURDY!" Weiss exclaimed as she suddenly lurched forwards to the ground. "Gods of light and dark, how much does this thing weigh!?"

"Eh, three or four kilos." I casually picked it back up. Alluring though her slender frame is, she really needs to work out more.

"What the-!?" The heiress took a moment to flex her aching hands before turning back to me. "The idea of a holographic weapon is that it's supposed to be lighter and more convenient! Why did you make it weigh so much!?"

"Three reasons:" I held the weapon in question before her, "firstly, carrying this around helps to build up my strength. Secondly, it is in the same weight bracket as a huntsman-grade claymore which, in case you didn't know, needs to be sturdier than an average blade if you don't want it to bend or break after one slash to a Grimm's hide. Getting used to a weight like that is helpful if I need to wield a full metal sword. Thirdly, when most holographic weapons run out of power, that's it. Worth nothing more than a paperweight if it runs out."

To emphasise my following point, I turned to the left, drew my arm back and lashed out with the inactive blade, causing Weiss to lean back in shock. "This, on the other hand, is still very much capable of killing something."

I turned to face my locker neighbour, clipping the blade back on my belt as I went. "Call it mundane or crude if you will, but it works for me just fine. Better this than having no weapon at all once I run out of cartridges in real combat."

"I… see your point." Weiss nodded, taking the moment to compose herself. "What about the rifle?"

"Oh, that? It's an old family heirloom on loan to me from my dad."

"Ah, an inherited weapon." She nodded. "I can understand using something like that if it still functions after all this time."

"Right. But this isn't something that I can just use willy-nilly. You see, it's a Regent C-28."

"Is that supposed to mean something to me or…?"

"YOU'RE KIDDING ME!"

"WAH!" I exclaimed in an _extremely_ _manly_ fashion as I recoiled from the sudden appearance of certain super-speedy teen, before quickly composing myself. "I mean, hello Ruby."

"Seriously!?" Weiss yelled in frustration. "Your locker is at the other end of the room! How did you even hear that!?"

"A Regent C-28!?" Ruby gushed, oblivious to the heiress' objections as she dashed quickly around me while words streamed out of her mouth. I swear, her eyes looked heart-shaped from what I could see in those after-images. "That's a super-duper-rare anti-Grimm large calibre hunting rifle! The rarer-than-rare ammunition it fires puts the rounds my dear Crescent Rose uses to shame in terms of recoil and stopping power! It's so powerful that it could obliterate a King Taijitu's head and penetrate one and a half inches into the armour plating of an Atlesian battle tank! You never told me you had something like this! WHY NOT!? CAN I SEE IT? PLEAAAAAASE? PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE-"

…

Okay. This is now happening.

I awkwardly looked between Ruby, who continued to bounce up and down on the spot, pleading like the mad girl she was, and Weiss, who was too busy scowling to comment for some reason. Why is that, I wonder…? Ah, right. The shouting match. And I remember her being unimpressed with Ruby and the blonde menace's antics at the airport, so I guess she didn't appreciate seeing it up close. Being someone who liked a bit of peace and quiet myself, I couldn't help but sympathise.

"-PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE-"

"Okay! Okay." I shut down the broken record, hands held up in surrender. "Calm down, Ruby. If you really want, then I guess I can show you-"

"YAY!" She threw her arms up in jubilation…

"…after initiation."

"Awww!" …before bringing them down to her sides in a pout. "You meanie!"

I smirked, leaning against the locker with my thumbs hooked in my pockets. "You'll probably spend ages gushing over the thing, so it would be better to do something like that in your free time, right? Being late to initiation is something neither of us want. So just be patient, Ruby. Good things come to those who wait."

"Yeah, Ruby." I snapped bolt upright in shock as Yang materialised behind her sister, patting her on the shoulder. "No need to make a fuss. I'm sure Isaac can show you his piece later on."

My eyes rolled. Great work, Yang. Now everyone in earshot is either spluttering in disbelief or accidentally dropping stuff onto the floor. I know it was deliberate from that brief smile that you aimed that at me, but did you even notice that you just used _your_ _younger_ _sister_ as the butt of a dirty joke!?

"Rifle! I meant rifle!"

…I'll take that as a yes.

Well, at least Ruby didn't catch on to the reason for everyone's discomfort. She just sighed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I guess it can wait- ah!" She jumped when she realised who was standing next to me. "Don't creep up on me like that!"

"I've been standing here for ages you blind invalid!" The heiress retorted with her hands on her hips. I guess my initial assessment of her reaction to Ruby was off the mark. "Is this going to be a thing now? Will you two just keep popping out of nowhere and make my life a- Pyrrha Nikos."

"Bless you." I said.

"No!" She waved her hand, pointing towards the person her eyes were now glued on. "That's Pyrrha Nikos, right there! I can't believe it!"

"Don't just change the subje- oh wow you're right." Ruby silenced her argument when she looked towards the redhead in question.

"Wow, didn't expect to see _her_ at Beacon, of all places." Yang confirmed.

"Oh, this is just perfect!" Weiss joyfully exclaimed before turning back to me. "Apologies Isaac. Interesting though this exchange is, I'm afraid there's an opportunity I just cannot miss. Goodbye."

"Huh? Oh, right." I politely waved. "See you later."

"Hey! What about us?" Little Red Scything Hood indignantly called out.

"What _about_ you?" The object of her ire's disappearing form retorted.

Okay, that's one volatile situation diffused. Not exactly sure what the deal is with this athletic girl in stylish combat armour, but hey, if her presence saves me from having to weather _another_ three-girl argument, then I'm not complaining.

"Still," Yang turned to me and destroyed my moment of calm, "as much as I don't like her, Weiss does have a point. You sure you'll be okay going out there with nothing but your fancy blade and a few small toys stuffed into your pockets?"

"Please, Yang." I dismissed with a wave of my hand. "We've been sparring and hunting small packs all through our years at Signal. You know how much I can do with less."

"I know, Isaac. It's just… You know…" She looked strangely pensive for some reason.

"Hm? What's wrong Ya-" WHAT THE-!?

…Her hands are on my shoulders.

Her hands are firmly clamped down on my shoulders and she's giving me a very concerned look. What. Why. I don't understand. Help.

"Isaac," she began in a tone softer than before, "the Emerald Forest is teeming with Grimm. Many of them are Beowolves. Tell me the truth, are you _sure_ you'll be okay out there?"

Oh, right. She knows what happened to me. Given who her stepmother is, I'd be surprised if she didn't. Ruby, on the other hand, seems to be in the same boat as the other onlookers. She didn't know what to make of her boisterous sister's sudden change in behaviour.

"Had a bad run-in with a Beowolf when I was two years old." I explained for everyone's benefit. "But I'm okay now. Therapy, along with the fact that I have been trained to, and have been killing Grimm on a regular basis for years now, went a long way to helping me overcome my fears."

"You sure about that?" Yang pressed… in more ways than one. Go easy on the pressure before I permanently lose a few inches!

I turned back to Yang and, even though it (physically and mentally) pained me to do so, I smiled pleasantly at her. "I'll be fine out there, you don't need to worry about me."

After an uncomfortably long pause, Yang nodded in satisfaction and released me from her iron grip. I rubbed and rolled my aching shoulders to relieve what tension I could. Now that this is sorted, I'd better go wait for the call to arms-

…

Actually, Yang still doesn't look that convinced. Well, I was planning to do this in front of Weiss, but what the heck. I might as well ease the menace's fears and reward Ruby's patience with a little teaser.

"Oh, and by the way?"

The two sisters looked my way as I raised my right hand. Now their attention is fixed on me, I'll send a pulse of aura through my upper torso. Not enough to activate anything, mind you. Just a nice, controlled burst like I've practiced a million times over. I grinned with satisfaction as my reason for wearing white made itself apparent. For a brief moment, a black camouflage pattern emerged on my white sleeve, travelling down my arm and across the main body to the left side as though ink were seeping through the fabric. Then it gradually faded back to the plain white it was before. I couldn't help but smirk. All those years training how to precisely use my aura have paid off.

"Those 'little toys' aren't the only things I've got on me."

Yang just stood there in stunned silence, her astonishment morphing into a pleased grin as she realised what she just saw. "You sly dog. So _t_ _hat's_ what you've been up to."

As for Ruby, she just stood there in awe, eyes twinkling. "Old-school Dust wielding. Awe. Some."

 **l-l**

A short while after we were all geared up, everyone was asked to make their way to Beacon Cliff to begin the test. I was hoping to catch up on some sleep on the ride over, but sadly, there wasn't a ride. No coach or Bullhead, all of us had to walk all ten miles to the designated area as a "warmup exercise". Deep joy.

Still, the saving grace was that there were only sixteen launch pads, meaning that we'd be sent out in groups. I was part of the third group along with the three girls I met yesterday, so we had to wait until the first two lots had finished up. There was a gap until we were due to start of about forty minutes. I tried dozing off for a bit, but everyone else just _had_ to make so much noise as they waited. No idea what you could see from up here that'll get you all exited. Even worse, we had Professor Port keeping watch over us since Miss Goodwitch was busy monitoring the groups in the field with Ozpin. You'd think that after yesterday's snooze fest, drifting off when he's around would be easy. But no, he rudely woke me up _ten. Whole. Minutes_ before my turn came to give me a "constant vigilance" lecture and wouldn't budge until I've absorbed every single word.

Eh, still, a fifteen-minute power nap is better than nothing, I guess. Okay, back to the present. I am standing on the fifth launch pad from the right, meaning I would be the twelfth to be chucked head-first into the Emerald Forest. Ozpin and Miss Goodwitch explained the situation to us: the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner, kill everything that isn't a fellow initiate or die, make your way north to a ruined temple and pick up one relic per group of two… blah, blah, blah. Get to the part where you start chucking us in already!

"…Oh, and one last thing." Ozpin unexpectedly added. "Everyone in the previous two groups managed to secure their relics and return alive, so there are only six relics remaining. This means that four of you are, sadly, destined to fail the test."

Whoa. Talk about putting even more pressure on us. I turned my head towards the two teachers while everyone else was murmuring amongst themselves, wondering what this means.

Thankfully, the headmaster put everyone straight. "Because the parameters of this test specify that each pair must secure one relic before returning to the cliff, not only will you be facing the dangers in this forest, you will also be racing against your fellow initiates for the right to attend Beacon Academy. Anyone who does not meet these requirements will be disqualified. Is that clear?"

Nobody spoke up. They were too busy processing this information and looking nervously at their fellow initiates- no, their competition. There's no telling who will come last, so everyone was studying each other and trying to gauge whether or not they'll end up as partners or opponents.

"Good!" Ozpin didn't even bother to wait for an answer. "Now then, take your positions and-"

"Whoa! Time out! Time out!" I called out, waving my arms as I noticed a problem. "Shoelaces undone!"

Stupid things must've come loose as I was waiting around. Ozpin doesn't seem to be the kind to wait around whilst someone sorted out a problem as minor as this. So as quickly as I could, I crouched down and started to re-tie the laces on my left shoe. Come on, Isaac! Less haste, more speed!

"Are you done, Mr Greene?" Ozpin calmly asked.

"Hold on…" Okay that's the first knot done, now for the second… You know, I'm surprised that I can't hear the other launch pads going off. Guess the Professors decided to take it easy on me.

"Okay, done!" I stood proud, hands on my hips. "I'm ready to gOOOOOOOOO-!" WHY AM I AIRBORNE!?

 **l-l**

The fifteen other prospective students just stood there and watched in surprise as Isaac's launch pad activated out of sequence. He rocketed away into the distance, quickly becoming a white and black speck tumbling through the air and plummeting towards the treeline. Once he was out of sight, all of them turned in unison towards Ozpin, who took a sip from his mug of cocoa and calmly turned to Glynda, who had her finger hovering over the override button for Isaac's pad on her tablet Scroll.

"Does anyone else need to retie their shoelaces…?" She asked menacingly, glaring over the top of her glasses.

All the students looked down to their feet, then turned back to the combat instructor, sheepishly shaking their heads.

"Good. Now brace yourselves, I will now launch you in order."

As the rest of the second group were launched, Ozpin turned to his aide. "That was quite harsh, Glynda. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had it out for poor Isaac."

"Don't be ridiculous." She dismissed, monitoring the automatic launching sequence. "He had ample time to make sure he was combat ready. I was simply teaching him and the others to make sure that nothing is out of place before you are placed on the threshold of danger."

"There are kinder ways of telling them that."

"I was simply following your example, headmaster." She countered.

Ozpin couldn't help but pause before nodding in agreement. That was a tactic he admittedly would've employed if he had access to the launch controls. He then pulled out his own Scroll to survey their students' progress on the strategically placed cameras dotted throughout the forest. "You know me all too well, Glynda. But are you sure you're not doing this because you dislike him?"

"Of course not. He hasn't done anything to earn my ire yet."

"Ah. Then this must be retroactive revenge against Solus for all the trouble he caused in the past."

Glynda flinched upon hearing that. It was slight, but Ozpin took notice of it.

After taking another sip from his drink, he turned back to his colleague with a stern look. "Glynda, listen to me. Despite what we were all put through, holding grudges and forcing that hate on the next generation isn't going to help. I doubt that Isaac is even aware of his exact relation to Solus. So don't project your feelings onto him. He is not the same man as his father."

"…I suppose you're right." She sighed, opening the camera feeds to find out where the students landed. "I certainly don't want to end up causing someone develop into a person like him. The gods know we can't deal with a _second_ Butcher of Fort Roscoe."

 **l-|-|-l**

Wow, Ozpin is both a massive jerk and an amazing prankster for ordering Glynda to fire me off with such amazing comedic timing! Unless it was Glynda acting on her own. If that were the case, then I have a newfound respect for our dear combat instructor. Despite the negative impact it had on my health, that was priceless! I hope to see more of this high-level trolling during my time at Beacon.

That being said, I was most definitely _not_ happy about almost losing my glasses during my flight. Knew I should've saved up for those arms that hooked all the way around my ears… Still, it was a good thing I managed to stop them from slipping off my face, or else initiation would've gotten a lot more dangerous if the other students had to contend with me minus any eye coverage. And I'd rather not resort to such measures.

Anyhow, after being sent tumbling through the air, I was able to stabilise my rapid, flailing descent and make a controlled landing. As the ground neared, I channelled my aura to my feet to activate the gravity Dust capsules I keep in compartments beneath my shoe's insoles. Thanks to that, I was able to gently glide down to the forest floor. Lost some points for the undignified launch, but I managed to win some back for the graceful touchdown. I hope. The Atlesian judges are always the hardest to please.

Now that I've been dropped in the literal thick of it, I made my way cautiously through the forest. Okay, if this pocket compass I kept for such an occasion was accurate, I'm currently walking directly north. If I remember correctly from the trek over here, I'd need to walk slightly to the right- I mean the north-east, in order to arrive at those towering ruins I spied earlier. In fact, I wouldn't be using this compass if I could still see them. But when I was studying the treeline before I was launched, the tall stone tower seemed to have disappeared. How strange. Still, I've got a head start on everyone. So I'd might as well make my way there, stay in a comfortable place and partner up with any lone stragglers that make it to the relics. An easy victory with little effort on my part.

 **GRRR!**

…One of these days, I'm going to learn not to think such stupid thoughts.

My right hand crept to my inert sword, the motion of unclipping it hidden by my body as I slowly turned around to face the Grimm as it clumsily attempted a sneak attack-

Beowolf.

I recognised that growl all too well from my recurring nightmare, but it took seeing the wolf-like Grimm slowly rearing up on its hind legs for me to register what I was facing.

The shadowy Grimm threw its arms wide and growled menacingly, standing tall with all its claws, teeth and strength on display to make it seem as intimidating as possible… And I'm ashamed to say that it's _working_.

All the other times I've dealt with them were under supervision from the foster parents, teachers and when my fellow students were there to back me up. This time? I'm all alone against them with no guarantee of help arriving just in time. So much for all that reassurance I gave Yang earlier. I guess… heh, I guess you can never completely overcome your trauma. Famous last words, am I ri-

NO.

No.

I'm not going to be killed today. Especially not by a garden-variety Grimm all on its lonesome. I'm not scared. I'm not scared at all… Do you know why you're not scared, Isaac? That's right.

It's because you don't _want_ to be scared.

…

Heh. That did the trick.

The dumb Beowolf was kind enough to just stand there, growling its head off for more intimidation value instead of going in for the kill. I undid the safety as I finished turning around, walking up to it and doing something it didn't expect: shoved my face in its face.

"What are _you_ lookin' at?" I bluntly asked as I leaned in. "You think I'm scared of you?"

Surprised by my unconventional behaviour, the Beowolf stopped growling and cocked its head sideways in confusion. It obviously never dealt with something like this before.

And it won't deal with anything else ever again.

"Not a chance." I declared as I activated the blade by my hip, skewering the Beowolf in the gut.

Swiftly raising my arm, I cut the beast in two from the waist upwards before it could react. I released the trigger to shut off the blade as it cleaved through the skull plate. The corpse of the Beowolf split apart and, being forward-heavy, began to fall towards me as its knees buckled. I took a couple of steps back, admiring my handiwork as it slowly evaporated into nothing on the ground. Heh, that worked better than I expected. Of all the semblances I could've ended up with, the ability to alter my emotional state at will was the best I could've hoped for. It's nice, you know. Being able to deal with situations like this with nothing but a thought… also helps to stop me from dissolving into a gibbering wreck whenever Yang turned up.

Buuuut enough about that. Now this little speedbump is out of the way, I can just waltz on through the forest and-

 **GRAAAAAAH!**

Oh, right. They hunt in packs.

A quick glance around revealed the pals of the slain mutt closing in from all around, nine in total, if I'm not mistaken. Their approach was staggered, but all of them seemed to be preparing to dogpile me and tear me to pieces as a group.

I decided to stay still and hunch down… not out of fear, mind you. I've got every intention of dodging, I'm just waiting until the last possible moment to evade. That's right you shady mongrels, come closer…

Closer…

Even clo- TOO CLOSE!

I sprang upwards, using my gravity Dust to give me the clearance needed to leap over the Grimm's heads. Thankfully, they were as dumb as their pack-mate. By the time they realised I flipped over their heads, they didn't get the opportunity to stop and collided with each other. I landed a good twenty feet away from the literal dogpile, pulling out my gun with my left hand and firing off a few shots aimed at any heads that were poking out of the mess of tangled Grimm. I managed to kill a three of them with shots through the eyes, the others either got cracked masks or bullets in their flailing limbs.

Before they dissolved, the dead bodies would weigh the rest down long enough for me to take them out. So I dashed forwards, blade held by my hip. One of the Beowolves managed to wriggle out of its predicament and stood up to meet my charge, roaring in defiance. I swung my blade upwards, pulling the trigger as I neared the apex, as had practiced. Your enemy can't properly defend themselves against big, glowing blue blade if they don't see it coming until it's too late. I didn't manage to split this one completely in half, but it won't be doing much with a halved head along with most of its chest.

With that one out of the way, I'll make short work of the rest in the pile. They managed to get somewhat organised once their dead brethren disintegrated, but they were far too slow to keep up with me. The first of the remaining five swung its claws, aiming for my head- seriously, what is it with Grimm aiming for my eyes!? As punishment, I ducked beneath the swing, pointed the business end of my blade under its chin and activated it.

I rolled backwards to avoid getting pinned by the falling corpse-GAH! I got tackled! The Beowolf was looming over me on all fours, thankfully not pinning my limbs to the ground. Its head shot forward, jaws open in preparation for the delicate process of tearing my throat out. I raised my right arm up, putting as much aura as I could spare into reinforcing the block…

 **CLANG!**

Teeth closed around my forearm, I winced at the initial force of the attack, which then morphed into a smirk as the Beowolf realised that it was chomping down on metal. Before it could wise up and wrench my arm out of its socket, I put the barrel of my gun against its temple and closed my eyes just before I pulled the trigger. Its jaw tensed up for a moment, but then went slack enough for me to pull myself free and use my Dust to propel myself out from under the carcass.

Okay, only three shady wolves left now. I aimed my gun at the closest one charging towards me and let loose the remaining five bullets in the magazine. Aiming for centre mass was very good advice when your target's head is hunched forwards, you have a better chance of scoring a headshot when the bullets start flying. And score one I did, for it tumbled forwards as all feeling left its body.

The one behind it had enough sense to swerve around its fallen compatriot before making its way towards me. Too bad it didn't take the recently made cracks in its bone mask into consideration as it charged head-first at me. Placing my empty handgun back in its holster, I leaned back from its attempt to bite me, drew my right arm back as I channelled my aura and smashed my sword's guard into its fractured head. Just like I explained to Weiss: with a healthy application of aura and a special blend of gravity and air Dust in my apparel to increase velocity and decrease air resistance, the inactive sword was still a viable weapon. As proven by the badly mutilated head beneath my bludgeon.

Now then, all that's left is one little Grimmy to kill. Unlike the others, this Beowolf was hanging back to study the battle. It flinched when my attention was drawn to it, slowly backing up. The back-right leg seemed to buckle slightly as it moved, probably because of the bullets I was sending towards the pile earlier. Seems like this one's a lot smarter than the rest. If I didn't kill it now, it would lick its wounds, using the knowledge it gained to be a more efficient killer and, ultimately, develop into an Alpha. As if I didn't need any more reasons to put it down.

I started to make my way over to the sole survivor. Not a run or dash, a slow, determined walk. And just to cinch the deal, I used my semblance to fill myself with a sadistic glee that undoubtedly showed on my face. I was hoping to use this wave of negative emotion to tempt it into attacking, but the Beowolf decided that it would be better off living and fight another day. Despite the limp, each stride was powerful. It put all its might into its motions, hoping to lose me through a combination of speed and cunning.

It's too bad that, as it slowly realised, it was not surging through the forest, but floating in the air with dirt, leaves and rocks levitating around its body.

I couldn't help but chuckle, walking forwards with my left hand slowly raising up, fingers splayed and palm facing upwards as a bold black camouflage pattern snaked down my left sleeve, stopping before my shoulder. Oh, the joys of being able to manipulate gravity. Normally, I wouldn't use this much for small-fry. But considering how this big bad wolf could become even bigger and badder if I let it roam free, I'd say this was a good time to dig into my precious Dust supplies.

The Beowolf flailed helplessly as it slowly rose in the air, slowly tilting until its head was facing the ground. I stopped short of it and watched as I continued to raise my hand. Let's see: sixteen… nineteen… twenty… okay, now it's starting to bob about in the air. It seems that my lowest limit is somewhere around twenty-two feet straight up. Probably could go higher if I used more Dust, but I'd say that this is more than enough for what I have in mind.

I clenched my fist and brought it sharply downwards.

The Grimm barely had a chance to yowl in surprise as it was swiftly brought back down to Remnant, a small boom echoing through the trees as the impact sent (regular) dust, rocks and twigs flying.

I waited a few seconds for the haze to clear up, looking for any sign of activity…

Relax, there's a small plume of black smoke. The thing was pulverised as its face met the dirt.

Whew. That… went a lot better than I was hoping, to be honest. Barring the wear and tear on my sleeve, I didn't get hit too badly. Nor did I freeze up for as long as I thought. Guess I'm starting to get over the worst of my trauma…

…

Well then, now they're gone I'd better get out my compass and check that I'm still heading in the right direction-

 **GROOOOAAH!**

…Drat. I left my negative emotions on for too long.

Calm as I could, I slotted a fresh magazine into my handgun, checked the power level of my blade and turned in the direction of that new sound.

"Well then, I guess this little therapy session isn't over yet." I murmured as a smirk formed on my face.

 **l-|-|-l**

"Oh wow! I didn't realise just how sturdy these are!" Silvia Mars squealed with delight as she studied her new partner's cybernetic arms close up, much to her displeasure. "Sculpted to look like regular arms and legs, but delivering a better performance than you'd expect! Do they work as well as real arms? Can you feel with them?"

"Yes, I can." Nat Skye rolled her eyes. "They have sensors connected to my nerves. I can feel them as they move, the surface of the ground I walk on and all of you poking and prodding by touch. I can also gauge the temperature and register painful sensations like MY FIST COLLIDING WITH YOUR FACE IF YOU DON'T QUIT IT."

"Oh! Sorry!" The faunus girl leapt back with her hands held up as the cyborg shook her free fist. "Normally, I'm not like this around other girls, human or no, but I just can't help it. Your prosthetics are just so intriguing! I've no idea what it's like to go about with one prosthetic limb, let alone four."

"And you didn't think it would be better to just ask me? You do realise that we're stuck together for four years if we get to the temple in time, right?"

Silvia promptly piped down and nervously scratched her left cheek with her index finger. "That's… a good point. Sorry."

Snorting, Nat casually regarded her left arm as though she were checking her non-existent nails. "Well… alright. I've had prosthetics for longer than I can remember. Both pairs are attached directly to my shoulder and hip joints, as opposed to the ones used by amputees that just slot over the stump. They're a permanent fixture that needs to be constantly updated as I age. So as far as I'm concerned, these fake limbs are real. They are a part of me."

She then turned her gaze back to her partner. "That enough for you?"

Silvia's gaze softened, nodding with satisfaction. "I guess I'll have to settle on learning more about the way you see the world afterwards. But for now…"

She sharply raised her right arm up, causing Remus, the flail attached to that arm, to swing upwards. The sensors built into the manacle around her wrist registering the amount of aura she was manipulating in a specific place and triggered the mechanism within the flail, causing the reel within to lengthen the chain. She then twisted around on her heel and swung her arm downwards, sending the heavy metal ball crashing down into the head of an Ursa as it emerged from the foliage behind her.

"…we'd better not keep our guests waiting."

Glancing around the clearing they were in, Nat unclipped Hinnamatoom, the two war axes from her belt. Both had blued sickle blades with a spike on the opposite side, the handles wrapped in brown leather and revolver chambers on the upper third of each shaft. She grabbed them by the necks, a pair of triggers deploying near the connection to the shaft as she pointed the ends, the internal hammers cocking and the end caps flipping open to form sights and reveal gun barrels, at the various varieties of Grimm stalking throughout the woods to do what they did best.

"Think you can keep up with me, convict?" She asked her partner.

It took a couple of seconds for her mind to register the nature of that comment, but Silvia chuckled as she swiftly reeled in Remus and turned properly to face her targets. "What kind of huntress would I be if I couldn't keep pace with a blueberry?"

"A decent one, at best."

Both of the girls smirked in response, letting the Grimm draw closer before springing into action.

Nat opened fire, snapping off shot after shot in quick succession. Her arms did an excellent job of absorbing the recoil produced by the rounds and her legs kept her firmly rooted to the ground, allowing her to swiftly gun down each target that entered her sights. Since the ammunition she used was a lot more powerful than what Isaac's handgun packed, the results of getting hit with the rounds were a lot more gruesome. Beowolves had large chunks of their bodies blown out and while it took a lot more to gun down the much more durable Ursa, they barely made it halfway towards her before dropping dead.

After all six chambers in each revolver was emptied, Nat flipped the axes around in her hands, grasping them by the handles. Triggered by a pulse of aura, the triggers and caps returned to their inert positions as she charged forwards, swinging her right axe into the head of a Beowolf that had its arm blown off from her barrage. The blue blade slipped in through Grimm's open mouth and kept going, leaving nothing more than a slack jaw attached to the neck.

Silvia, on the other hand, was conducting her assault with a lot less finesse. Three Ursas trampled down the sapling trees and bushes in their way as they surged forward, eager to destroy the sentient life their kind found so offensive. Silvia grinned, silently thanking them for bunching up before she sprang into action, swinging Romulus in a horizontal arc. The heavy ball swept across the heads of the three Grimm, stunning them briefly as she bought Remus down in an overhead swing, lengthening the chain midway until it smacked down hard on the head of the beast in the middle. She pulled the flail back as the Ursa's body went limp on the ground, then lengthened the chains on both her wrists before grabbing them, swinging her arms wide and bought them sharply together, crushing a second head in between the two flails.

As the third was getting over the shock of blunt-force trauma suddenly applied to its plated cranium, it roared and prepared to charge, noticing all too late that Silvia had started to retract both chains all the way. As they reeled closer to her hands, hatches opened on the balls above the connections to the chains; Silvia reached inside and grabbed the handles as the chains were pulled taught and the two balls magnetised to the manacles, locking them in place. Once her spherical boxing gloves were secure, she rushed forwards, letting loose a flurry of heavy blows onto the Grimm's head, pounding away with wild abandon. Reinforced metal kept smashing away at bone, cracking it more and more until it shattered along with the head it was protecting.

An angry hissing sound from above got the faunus girl's attention. She snapped her head up to see the white head of a juvenile Taijitu, ten feet in length, lunge towards her from the canopy. Silvia reared her arms back, preparing to crush the first of the snake Grimm's two heads as it drew near.

"Heads up!"

…Only for Nat to leap over her and slice the entire serpent in half lengthways. Both halves fell down either side of Silvia with a heavy thud while the axe-wielding cyborg gracefully landed on both feet a few yards in front of her.

"Kill stealer." Silvia deadpanned.

"You're welcome." Nat flatly responded as she scanned the surrounding area. "So, that's eight for me and four for you. But I'm willing to let yours count for two since they were bigger and tougher than the four Beowolves I bagged."

"But you also bagged an Ursa. Which means, by those rules, you're still ahead by one point. Or half a point. That last one wasn't fully grown."

"Eh, sure. Might as well get some scoring system established while we're at it."

"Works for me." Silvia reverted Romulus and Remus back into their flail forms, satisfied that her wolf ears couldn't detect any other signs of activity. Other than a strange crackling, as though a tree was slowly burning down to ashes somewhere nearby. "Okay, I don't hear anything else. We should get going before everyone else bags the relics."

Nat nodded, putting away Hinnamatoom and started to walk on towards the objective…

"Wrong way."

…and stopped mid-march as she turned to Silvia, who was pointing straight to her left.

"…Give me a break. I don't have a built-in compass." She retorted as she continued to walk on, cheeks lightly glowing in embarrassment.

"Well then, maybe you should stick close someone who does?"

"Don't make me buy a dog whistle!"

Silvia smirked as she went to catch up with her partner. "Oh, you and I are going to get along just fine."

 **l-|-|-l**

Whew… that's all of them taken care of. Took me a while to take each and every one of them down, but it's all over now. And the final score is… Isaac: 31, Grimm: nil. My blade's got just under half a full charge and I'm now down to three magazines, but at least I didn't have to use any more Dust. Thank goodness for that. It's a good thing I've still got some left to see me safe to the temple-

Oh, I am a colossal idiot.

I have gravity Dust in my clothing. Why did I need to trek through the forest in the first place when I could just leap above the treeline and glide there!? I've already done enough hiking with the adoptive parents, so there's no pressure to do things the "right" way! Great work genius, you let your need for cathartic action take the helm and now that head start turned out to be completely worthless!

Ugh, as tempting as following this line of thought is, I'd rather not get too agitated and attract even more Grimm. So keep calm, calm down and refocus yourself…

…

Okay, that's much better. Now to-

 ***rustle***

I crouched down as I readied my blade and aimed my gun in the direction of the sound, breathing slowed, finger on the triggers. Okay, I'm ready for whatever comes next-

 **CRASH!**

WHOA NELLY! A large beast with a huge mane burst out through the bushes right past me, roaring its head off!

"RAAAAAGH! WHERE ARE THEY!?"

…False alarm, it's just Regina.

"COME ON OUT YOU SHADOWY FIENDS!" She bellowed, shaking her bardiche above her head menacingly. "COME AND FACE ME! OR ARE YOU TOO COWARDLY TO FACE UP TO A _REAL_ HUNTRESS!?"

"Hey, Regina!" I called out as I holstered my weapons.

"MY SKILLS HAVE BEEN TESTED IN THE MOUNTAINSS OF SANUS, THE PLAINS OF VYTAL AND THE PEACHY BEACH RESORT OF VACUO!"

"Regina!" I sternly repeated myself.

"IF YOU THINK THAT YOU COULD TAKE ME ON, THEN GET IN LINE! MY BLADE LONGS TO BITE INTO YOUR FLESH, MY SHELLS WAIT TO BLAST YOUR-"

"REGGIE!"

"DO NOT CALL ME REGGIE!" The big girl snapped her head around to glare at me, but wound down surprisingly fast once she took in the situation. She glanced around the empty area she expected to be infested with Grimm before returning her gaze to me when she saw their corpses dissolving into smoke. An embarrassed smile formed on her face. "Oh. Greetings, Isaac. It appears I have arrived too late to assist you."

Thank you for your insight, Captain Obvious. "You heard me fighting, I take it?"

"Indeed!" She quickly regained her usual hammy persona. "Far be it from me to leave a fellow student in distress! Though I must say, I did not expect you to still be in the woods after you ended up so far in the lead!"

"Well I did run into a bit of roadblock, as you can see."

"Of course, of course! There is no shame in that!" She put her left hand on her hip as she planted her bardiche's blunt end into the ground, grasping it near the top at the back.

On closer inspection, it appears that it's not a regular bardiche, but a brown-framed pump-action shotgun with the orange-tinted crescent blade mounted on the dark-brown rack with a gap between the connections so she can operate it. A much smarter design than that blunderbuss I saw on Professor Port's wall. I mean, you'd think it would make better sense to mount the blades near the barrel so you could aim the damn thing…

"But!" Her sudden exclamation snapped me away from that train of thought. "Have no fear, for if the Grimm rear their ugly heads once more, then I shall be there to lend you my aid! For we are now partners! Comrades in arms!"

"Yes, I suppose we are." I curtly nodded with a smile as I remembered Ozpin's speech a little too late.

"Right then!" My loud new partner enthusiastically grabbed her weapon before walking to my side. "Shall we be off?"

"Right away, partner." I dug out my compass and lead the way.

…

Note to self: if we manage to pass initiation, save up and buy a ton of aspirin. I'm going to need it.

 **l-|-|-l**

 _ **Author's Rant Challenge (edited)**_

Before I start talking about this chapter, I'd like to ask a few questions of just about everyone who wrote a RWBY fanfic, no matter if it were an OC story like this, a self-insert, a crossover where one or more characters from a different work end up on Remnant, whatever. A couple of very simple questions:

When watching the initiation test in Volume 1, did you _count_ the number of launch pads? Or better yet, the number of relics at the temple?

Seriously, if you count, you'll find sixteen launch pads and twenty relics in total (Of each colour: king and queen, two bishops, two knights, two rooks and two pawns). Sixteen initiates get launched into the forest, form pairs, each pair picks up one relic. If nothing went wrong with the other unseen team by the end of the test, eight relics will have gone and four teams will have been formed. That leaves enough relics behind to form another six teams, which means two things: that eight initiates aren't going to qualify and, barring any accidents, that there will be forty first-year students at the end of it all.

And given the number of launch pads, it suggests that there will be three groups of sixteen initiates launched into the Emerald Forest at a time. Not sure if they had different sessions like I did or if Ozpin had the others launched from different parts of the cliff. Regardless, after taking all the info above into consideration, this seems to be the most logical conclusion, does it not? Three loads of sixteen with a certainty of failure for eight people.

Yet whenever I read other stories on this site, it seems like everyone else thinks that RWBY, JNPR and CRDL are the only first-year students in all of Beacon! Sure, Oobleck said that Beacon only accepts the "best of the best", but twelve students per year group in such a large academy building seems a bit overkill, does it not?

Did nobody else think of these possibilities, or did everyone else simply focus on the named characters and disregard everything else in the background, such as the four unidentified students launched with the twelve named ones? Or, if these OCs, SIs etc. need to be kept at Beacon even though there's no slots available, don't you think Ozpin would keep them on as a student but not assign them to a specific team? I'm sure someone as experienced as he is would have some kind of contingency for events like this.

But no. Despite there being 28 other first-year slots available, it seems that few are adventurous enough to try anything different to sticking one extra person on team RWBY. And it has been done so many times by so many people that it has become boring.

So come on guys, get your creative juices flowing! Figure out different ways than this overdone method to get your characters to experience the plot alongside the heroines of RWBY! If some loser who botched his first fanfic on this site is attempting this, then what's stopping better writers from doing a better job? What's stopping _you?_ At least give it a go, maybe you'll end up writing something awesome that blows everyone's minds. You'll never find out if you don't do a little experimentation here and there.

…

Okay, rant over. Normal service has been resumed.

 **l-|-|-l**

 _ **Author's Note**_

Sorry for the long wait. This particular chapter had a troubled production. There was a lot of stuff cut out, such as Isaac angrily shutting up Ruby, Yang and Weiss' argument in the ball room and Isaac's first encounter with the Grimm, which was a little too creepy for my liking. And there was an extended breakfast scene which was a complete and utter nightmare. Originally, it went on for much longer than it did here… and I simply couldn't decide what to do with it. No fewer than _six_ different iterations with the person greeting Isaac and the subject of their ensuing conversation being different every time. And then I thought to myself "come on, man. You've rewritten this segment _six times over_ " and eventually replaced it with the locker room sequence. And the encounter between Nat and Silvia was completely rewritten because of how clumsy it first was.

…You know, I'm surprised that nobody other than Cinder uses Dust woven into their clothing in the show. You'd think it would show up more often, being a tried-and-tested old-school method. Gravity Dust seems like it would be very broken if you could implement it like Isaac is in this story, so just think of what you could do with the other varieties. High-pressure water streams that could cut through rock? Blasts of air strong enough to send groups flying? Bubble-like bombs made through a combination of air and burn (the officially confirmed name for fire Dust)? Oh ho ho, I do think I'll be having a blast with these possibilities…

I reduced the weight of Isaac's sword because when I wrote it, I was an idiot who had no sense of scale. Sure, a huntsman with strength training could comfortably carry a weapon weighing that much. But how on earth could you compress _twelve_ kilos into such a small package unless you made the entire thing out of super-dense materials? Thank goodness I corrected that…

I came up with the idea of aura mechanisms by watching how weapons like Crescent Rose and Velvet's projector change without any mechanical input. Given how aura is something the sentient races of Remnant have lived with for years, it makes sense that they'd use it to trigger complex actions in their weapons.

Regina's shotgun bardiche was one of the many things I came up with while brainstorming ideas for Isaac's weapons. Any I didn't like ended up being passed off to other characters… except Silvia, whose weapon was the most RWBY-ish weapon I could conjure up.

And if you're wondering what kind of rifle the Regent is, originally it was a Mosin-Nagant that could transform from a full-length rifle to the "Obrez" carbine (basically an oversized bolt-action pistol). But then I thought: "what if I were to cross an M1 Garand with a Barrett M82?" and this little chunk of madness came into being.

Welp, that's the end of this (rather lengthy) afterword. Bye bye!


	4. Steve, shout, and me

_Note: Finally decided to get off my lazy backside and continue the story. I've went against what I said and refined the last chapter because I was slightly off with my maths in my little rant, there would be eight dropouts rather than four like I originally stated._

 _Anyhow, let's get back on track, shall we?_

 **l-|-|-l**

You wouldn't think a van-sized, red-eyed, wolflike creature with white bony plates covering the majority of its black body would be very stealthy. But if there's one thing this particular Beowolf Alpha at, it was catching its prey off-guard.

Living for the good part of the past decade in the Emerald Forest meant it had to contend with many a Beacon applicant. And with every passing year, it learned to watch its prey closely, stick to the shadows and thick foliage in order to blend in, make as little noise as possible while directing its lesser brethren… then strike when the young huntsmen-in-training least suspected it. Those that it did not kill were at least heavily wounded from the experience. But the most important thing it learned was to not charge in the moment negative emotions flared up. Many a Grimm were slain thanks to becoming convenient outlets for the teenagers' anger, and the Alpha lost an arm thanks to its pack running afoul of a very angry young man with a billhook. Which eventually led to it being christened "Bandit" by Vale's huntsmen.

In light of this, it took its time observing the biggest fount of negativity from a safe distance. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't emanating from the shark-toothed faunus blindly charging ahead in a rage and his exasperated partner who couldn't get a word in edgeways, but from two of the calmest, upbeat combatants it had observed. Its keenly honed senses tasted the brief burst of that thick, delicious dark nectar every Grimm were made to crave… when one of the smarter Beowolves suddenly died after falling from a great height in an area with no large drops, which then disappeared just as suddenly as it flared up.

As much as Bandit would have liked to charge in and gorge itself silly on the fount of those delicious emotions before either it or the target died, it hung back to commune with its brethren for more information. Every pack that attacked them was quickly defeated, unable to sense the negative emotions until they were right on top of the source. The sound of gunfire from its direction suggested that they relied heavily on ranged weapons, so Bandit instructed every Ursa it came across to charge en masse and make the prey use up their ammunition. But after sensing the fifth pack perish no less quickly than the last four, the Alpha decided to use some more of the recently arrived Grimm as a distraction while it studied its prey. And when it did, it saw that the reason wasn't because of the nature of their weapons.

It was because they were efficient at killing.

Every attack from the young man in the white coat and the large young woman in orange was a killing blow. If they couldn't kill, they would maim, _then_ kill. And the only negative emotions it could taste were that of annoyance and the desire to kill, which every huntsman displayed. They were surprisingly jovial most of the time, too. It was so confusing to the Alpha that it wasn't until the young man hastily adjusted his glasses once they were almost knocked off that it realised that he was the source of all that negativity. The huntsman-in-training was keeping a surprisingly tight lid on his emotions.

Bandit snarled and backed away from the conflict. Upbeat opponents were bad enough because of those disgusting positive emotions. Calm opponents were worse because no matter their emotional state, they would stop at nothing to slay the Grimm in front of them. There was no way the Alpha would be able to kill with hit-and-run tactics or surprise assaults. No, it would need to think bigger. Granted, there were more Grimm around thanks to the negativity projected by the past two groups of initiates, but even they wouldn't be enough. Not even if they banded together. If only more heavy-hitters like the Giant Nevermore and Deathstalker were around to supplement the lesser Grimm, or if Bandit's arm were intact …

And then its planning was interrupted when an unfamiliar presence arrested its attention. A Jack Taijitu, larger than its smaller, newly-spawned brethren slithering through the woods. It was missing its black second head and was seeking this particular Alpha out. When the two met far from any of the last initiates, it learned that the three-metre long snake Grimm came all the way from the place mankind called Mountain Glenn. On orders from The Queen Herself, no less. It was also instructed to hold the end with its decapitated head up to the stump where the Bandit's left arm once was. Both did so with no hesitation. The Queen was never to be questioned.

The Alpha cried out in shock when tentacles shot out from the Taijitu and burrowed into its old wound. The root-like tentacles quickly spread through its body, anchoring the two Grimm together. Their bodies had fused. Their minds were as one. It knew the wealth of knowledge this partially-grown snake had accrued after losing its other head; by staying out of sight and observing every battle it could. It was then that Bandit realised the instructions of The Queen: a cephalopod Plagas Grimm had burrowed itself into the Jack, lying dormant until another suitable host was available. Namely, the one-armed Alpha.

On a whim, Bandit tried moving the Taijitu grafted onto its body as if it were its own limb. It moved up, down, curled around in directions its former arm wasn't capable of and opened and closed its mouth, baring its fangs as though it were clenching its fist or bearing its claws to strike. And as an added bonus, it could see through the serpent's eyes. Bandit couldn't help but let loose an almost human cackle. It was granted a new limb! One that not only had the benefit of debilitating venom, but of nigh-indestructible skin as well thanks to the Plagas which toughened up the plates and scales of both conjoined creatures.

But Bandit was not too giddy from its gift to charge out and test it on unsuspecting prey. Its keen mind, enhanced with the other linked through the parasite made it well aware of its limitations: if the Plagas died, then it loses both its limb and enhanced durability, along with the wealth of knowledge the one-headed snake provided. As such, it called to its brethren, demanding the presence of every juvenile Taijitu in the area. It took a few minutes for them to slither there, but when they arrived, the Plagas wasted no time in skewering them with its remaining tentacles. Each were brought to the body of the parasite, coiling around it until the only hint of its presence were the tentacles spread through its hosts that appeared as raised veins. By the time it was done, the entire limb was a mess of coiled snakes and venomous mouths.

With every new mind linked to Bandit's, undeveloped though they were, it grew smarter. They were no longer simple thralls to The Queen's whims, but a collective. Every mind worked in unison and soon a plan was formed. All Grimm in the forest would converge as one towards the temple Bandit new the initiates went to every time they arrived in groups of sixteen. Where he knew tempers flared when they squabbled over who takes the bait placed there by the teachers. There they would wait until the negativity increased to the point it was almost unbearable. Then, they would strike.

And more those disgusting hominids would die.

 **l-|-|-l**

"Off with his head!" Regina decapitated an Ursa that was unfortunate enough to miss its lunge. She then whirled her blade around with an unnecessary flourish, bringing the shotgun's barrel (which, after taking another look at it, was a lot beefier than a bog-standard 12-gauge) to bear as she blew a chunk out of the face of an advancing Beowolf. She looked over her shoulder in my direction while casually racking the slide. "I expected a challenge, but this is far more taxing than I anticipated!"

"No kidding!" I replied, stamping down on the midsection of a young Taijitu while a quick squeeze from my sword and gun's triggers made short work of both heads. "You'd think the others would've thinned this lot out. But no, we can't go five steps without tripping OVER-!" Whoo, that was close! I ducked under an Ursa's swiping claw, pressed my inert blade's projector under its chin and activated it. My Dust helped to propel me away from the falling corpse. "-another pack of Grimm."

My partner chuckled, slamming the shaft of her weapon into the head of another Beowolf, cracking its mask before she bought the blade down on the fracture, finishing it off. "Well, it would not be much of an initiation test if it were so SIMPLE!"

The Ursa that moved in to fill the gap left by the now-dead Beowolf clamped its jaws firmly down on the middle of her Regina's weapon. She can't swing her blade or shoot, but at the same time, she's not doing anything other than struggle with the Grimm. Seriously, you'd expect huntresses in training would break out the bare-handed techniques or pack back-up weapons for situations like this… Fine, looks like I'll have to step in. I quickly dashed over to the side of them, raising my inert blade over my head so it pointed skyward. I closed my eyes and held that position for a couple of seconds more as I calmed my mind.

" _Aura is the extension of the soul."_ I repeated the mantra in my head. _"It flows through the body to protect, heal and empower. The weapon is an extension of the warrior, a part of his body. If it is of the body, then it can be empowered."_

…Perfect.

I squeezed my sword's trigger, activating it. The aura I channelled in the hilt travelled up the blade, giving the sharp hard-light the edge I needed (no pun intended) and swung downwards. As I did, it formed a crescent arc of energy, tinged cyan by the blade, which proceeded to streak through the air and severed the Ursa's neck. Just in time, too. Its raised paw froze, then went limp a few seconds after it realised its head was no longer connected.

Man, the Slicer technique is such an awesome way to kill your enemies at a distance when all you have is a blade. Too bad I have to shave bits off my aura to use it. Plus, it's a lot more difficult to perform with a hard-light blade, never mind the projection issues I have. Pass or fail this test, I'm gonna need to fix this.

"Thank you… er…" Ah, right. Regina's still alive. Her thanks trailed off when she noticed that the severed head was still clamped firmly onto her shot-bardiche. So tightly that a few shakes and sharp tugs weren't enough to dislodge it.

"Give it a few seconds to dissolve." I advised while sweeping the surroundings with my handgun.

"Oh, of course! I knew that!" Liar. "Anyway, are there more of the beasts around?"

After fighting off Grimm practically every step of the way? I hope so. Famous last words…

…

…or not? I can't see, hear, or even sense anything with the aid of my aura. Last chance! Prove me wrong!

…

"Nope, we're clear."

I took the opportunity to follow Regina's example and reload while we have the chance. After finishing with my handgun's last mag, it was holstered and my blade was next on the list. Almost out of juice… Definitely a problem with the consumption because it normally would be half-full after this many pulls of the trigger… Might as well slot some fresh cartridges in. Sheesh, I'm burning through my Dust supply faster than I burned through my savings when there was a "buy one get one half-price" sale at my favourite Dust store- YEOW! HOT!

"What's wrong?" I didn't notice Regina at my side until she spoke up. She must've darted over in concern after hearing one of my patented ever-so-manly yelps.

"Yet another problem with my holo projector." I shook my hand after dropping the hot cartridges on the ground. Boy, am I glad I wear these gloves. Getting blisters on your palm is never a fun experience… "Projecting more blade than is necessary causes lots of internal heat to build up."

"Couldn't you feel it when you were wielding it earlier?"

"Nope. The way I designed it, the heat sinks _should_ take the excess to the front of the guard while the innards are insulated to keep them safe from electrical and magnetic interference… Oh man, I hope they're not cooking because of this…" I had a quick look inside the receptacle, before giving up with a shrug once my glasses started steaming up.

Ah well, my blade deserves a rest after all its hard work, so I might as well clip it back on my belt… Hmm, I didn't notice it before, but I'm glad I put the magnetic clip near the pommel when building this thing. Hanging with the business end pointing downwards will help to vent heat if I leave the chamber open. Good thinking, past me. I then policed the two cartridges I dropped, waving them in the air to cool them off before pocketing them. There's no way I'm risking the Dust cooking inside of the blade, let alone my pocket. No matter how tightly packed it is, the last thing we need is a load of lasers indiscriminately skewering anything in their path. I'll hang on to them so I can squeeze out the last drops of juice later on. Besides, it's not like I'm _completely_ defenceless with one of my primaries out for the count.

"Now then, where were we…?" I pulled out my compass and re-oriented myself. "Temple should be thataway, so let's get going."

And on that note, we resumed our trek towards the temple. Well, I say "trek", but after being held up by so many Grimm we weren't in the mood to hang about for another load to chew on us. So off we ran, weaving through the trees, making our way over and through a swathe of felled trees while keeping an eye out for trip hazards and anything that was liable out to rip our faces off. For such a big girl, Regina is doing well to keep pace with me. Probably because she was able to put more power in each stride. If anything, this proves that having large muscles is one thing, but knowing how to use them effectively is another. Either that, or she's cheating by using her aura to boost her physical capabilities. Not that I'm one to talk thanks to Taiyang's training…

Ahem. Anyway, it's been forever since we were dumped in this forest. Our objective should be around here somewhere- bingo! "And here we are!" I shouted out, doubling my pace until I burst out of the treeline.

At last, a clearing with an old stone building to boot! Regina was but a few paces behind as I made my way around the side of building to the front… or, well, where I _assumed_ the front was. Hard to tell when the front door and a good 60% of the walls were missing. We stopped in the middle of the circular structure, taking in our goal. Twenty podiums, all but two of them empty.

"We made it!" Regina remarked as she planted the butt of her weapon on the ground and- OW! Watch your strength, woman! That 'friendly' pat on the back put me on the floor! "Just in time, too!"

"You can say that again!"

A quick glance over my shoulder revealed the source of the familiar voice and accompanying clinking chains: Silvia walking up to us with Nat beside her, arms crossed and a displeased look directed towards her new partner. Both girls had some kind of white wildflower tucked behind their left ears. Can't wait to hear the story behind that one. Give or take a few scuffs and patches of dirt on their clothes, they were like us: mostly untouched and a little tired, if my eyes weren't deceiving me.

"Afternoon, ladies." I nodded towards them as I peeled myself off the ground and brushed the fresh coating of dirt off myself. "So how was your day?"

"Oh, you know." The faunus girl coyly replied as she approached. "Had a nice walk on the nature trail, picked flowers, killed some Grimm, got lost a couple of times-"

"Never gonna let me live that down, are you?" Nat narrowed her eyes as she overtook, stopped in front of and glared at her partner. "It was just one wrong turn!"

"Oh really? _One_?" Silvia stopped and held up one hand with every finger outstretched. "Try five."

"Five!?" Nat's arms were down by her sides, fists balled up tightly. "Where did you pull _that_ number from!?"

"Ooh, now let me think…" And thus began the mocking tapping of a finger against her chin as the long list was read… Must've gone to the same school of sarcasm as me. "First, I was launched after you and saw you land more or less where Isaac did. And yet you ended up partnering with me, nowhere near either of you. Secondly, there was that wrong turn after we crushed those Grimm. Thirdly, that rock pile that you went all the way around and back the way we came. And don't get me started on that smashed cave with the aboriginal painting outside it-"

"Ugh, fine! Rub it in, why don't you!?" Nat threw her arms up in anger and shaking her head. Ignoring the smug grin Silvia was directing towards her, she turned to me with the same mildly amused look she bore yesterday. "So, how's your day been?"

…Sure, fine. We'll carry on as though that didn't happen. "Apart from having to fight off tons of Grimm, it's been alright. Weather's great today."

"Tons?"

"Indeed!" Regina cut in, stamping the butt of her weapon against the ground for emphasis. "No sooner than we met up, the Grimm have been accosting us practically non-stop! I was afraid that we would not make it to the temple in time, but as you can see, that is thankfully not the case!"

"Yeah, brill." Silvia dismissed. "But can you go back to the 'tons of Grimm' part? Just how many did you run into?"

"Let's see," I began counting on my fingers, "not including the two I fought before Reggie-"

"Do not call me Reggie!"

"Sorry, slip of the tongue. Before Regina partnered up with me, I'd say we've gone through, ooh, about ten or so packs of Grimm?"

"TEN!?" Our acquaintances exclaimed before Nat followed up. "You've fought off twelve whole packs of Grimm in total!?"

"Of course!" Regina affirmed. She tried to put on a brave face, but it was obvious that she was just as exhausted as I was at the memory of having to fight off so many. "Looks like the last two groups barely dented the population during their runs through here!"

"That's still more than we've run into!"

"Really now? How many did you have to contend with, then?"

"Four packs with the odd loner here and there." Silvia replied. "How on Remnant did you two attract so much attention!? Are you a pair of Grimm magnets or-"

"Anyway!" I clapped my hands, startling all three girls and thankfully ending that uncomfortable train of thought. "If we were unlucky enough to have run into that many Grimm, who knows how much are still lurking in the woodwork? We'd better grab our relics and get out of here before we get minced like beef."

Nat held her shocked gaze for one second more, but she thankfully got the message, shooting a smile and wink at me. "Aww, and I was on a winning streak, too."

"Pfft, please." Silvia scoffed, glancing over her shoulder as she walked over to the podiums. She was thankfully oblivious to Nat covering for me. "I wouldn't call two tiddly Nevermores since we tied a 'winning streak'. I'm still beating your sorry butt into the ground by taking out the rest of the flock in one swing."

"And unless you're forgetting our rules, the small ones are only worth half a point. All I need to do is bag a Beowolf or two and I'm in the lead once again."

"Oh ho! You two had a little hunting game?" Regina asked as we followed.

"Yup. Fancy joining in with your score, sister?"

"As much as I'd love to, I'm afraid I'll end up losing to you two!" That's an interesting way of saying you lost count. "Plus, Isaac was a lot more proactive in our little hunts!"

"Oh please stop, you're making me blush." I rubbed the back of my blush-free head in mocking embarrassment as I stopped by the podium.

"No need to be so modest!" Reg- GAH! STOP SLAPPING ME ON THE BACK! "Your speed was more than enough to keep up with my ferocity!"

"Yeah, I guess." I grumbled as I used the podium next to me to hoist my sore self up from the floor. "Stop laughing, Yang."

…That's odd. Why can't I hear any juvenile giggling? And why are the girls all giving me confused looks- Oh, right. She's not here.

"Don't ask." I winced. Of all the things to develop a knee-jerk reaction to… Ah well, better to be safe than sorry.

 **l-|-|-l**

"Snrk!"

"Hm? What's up sis?" Ruby asked as she, her new friends and Weiss turned to the blonde bruiser as she started giggling out of the blue as they walked through Beacon's courtyard to the ballroom.

"Eh? Oh, nothing." She suppressed another snigger as everyone gave her a confused look. "Inside joke."

 **l-|-|-l**

"Well then," Silvia began as she casually chucked her relic up and down in her hand, "it looks like we'll be taking the black knights home with us."

"A black knight, you say…?" Regina murmured with a sly grin as she propped her weapon against the podium before pulling her right arm through her blazer's sleeve and tucked it behind her back, letting her sleeve hang loose to give the impression of an amputee-

No.

Nooooo no no.

Don't do this to me, don't you _dare_ make the reference I suspect you're going to make-!

"'Tis but a scratch!"

FART IN MY GENERAL DIRECTION! YOU JUST HAD TO SAY- No. Calm. Calm down this instant, Isaac. Caaaaaalm down. Just follow Nat and Silvia's example and give her a flat look. Don't move a muscle. Don't give her any satisfaction. Give her nothing to work with.

Regina looked back and forth between us; the stupid pleased grin plastered on her face ever so slowly crumbling into a pained grimace. "I… take it that none of you have seen that movie…?"

"Oh, I've seen it." I clarified.

"Me too." Nat followed suit.

"Ditto." As did Silvia.

"Then… why aren't you…?"

"Because the jokes have been repeated so many times that they aren't funny anymore." Silvia neatly summed it up.

And on that note, a somewhat peeved Regina put her arm back where it belonged, scooping up her weapon (I really need to learn what that thing is called. Along with everyone else's weapons, for that matter) while grumbling something about us "having no appreciation for the classics…". While she was doing that, I grabbed our own black kn- _chess_ _piece_ , and pocketed it before the four of us turned on our heels and walked out of the temple.

"So, anyone have a plan on how we're gonna get out of here?" Nat asked as she glanced above the treeline surrounding the large clearing we were in.

"Well, we could keep on going north." I offered. "The cliff goes all the way around to the starting point and I saw some larger ruins bridging the gorge before the flight here. We could use them to get over to the cliff."

"If it's still standing that is…"

…Hang on, what's that Nat mumbled? "Beg your pardon?"

The metal-limbed girl turned her attention towards me after glancing in the direction of the cliff. "While we were waiting for the first group to finish, we saw a Giant Nevermore fly in this direction followed by a loud crash. I guess it chased someone out here and it demolished the tower. You were napping at the time, so you wouldn't have known."

…

…Huh. It's amazing what you can sleep through.

"You know, I was wondering why I couldn't see the top of the spire as I was flying earlier." I noted with a shake of my head.

"Ah, don't sweat it!" Silvia slapped me on the back, thankfully with less force than- ow, metal sphere again. "What matters is we've bagged the last relics. The way we get back doesn't matter 'cause we've got this in the bag."

"YOU WISH, WOLFIE!"

 ***VRRRRRM!***

"Whoanuts!" I hastily exclaimed as, on reflex, I turned to Silvia and leapt backwards while thrusting my right arm out, changing gravity to make Silvia fall sideways and away from the incoming attack. My left hand darted down to my holster. I landed on my back, using the momentum from the jump to roll onto my knees as I aimed towards where we were standing a few seconds ago.

A familiar face landed chainsaws-first where Silvia was standing a few seconds ago: the shark-toothed guy with the spiky brown hair who I saw on the flight to Beacon yesterday. He was wearing the same outfit he wore then: a white sleeveless shirt with the top three buttons undone, beige cargo shorts and brown leather boots with steel buckles, all of which were scuffed and dirty from his foray into the forest. The thick elbow-length brown leather gloves on his arms were covered by the two navy-blue gauntlets of his weapons: a chainsaw pata on each arm, both bearing a wavy painted pattern resembling that of Damascus steel.

His triangular teeth were practically grinding as he snarled, his dark-blue eyes shooting a piercing glare towards me as he dragged his weapons up from the ground, sending sparks flying as he went to lunge. A trio of shots from me forced him to block, giving the girls the opportunity they needed. Silvia sprung back onto her feet and threw one arm up as the chain lengthened, before bringing the ball down on top of his head. Sharkboy thankfully(?) had the foresight to move the saws away from his chest, preventing his aura from getting shredded by his own weapons when he was knocked face-first into the ground. Regina, weapon bared, was closing in on the assailant either to pin him down or give him a few good hard whacks for good measure. I, on the other hand, abstained. Most people would against kicking someone while they are down, and I agree.

It's a lot better to shoot them instead.

Poor Sharkboy was peppered with bullets from me and Nat, who followed my example and drew her axes in revolver form. Our barrage was more than enough to keep him from rolling away as Regina brought her shot-bardiche down on his back. She kept him pinned as Silvia retracted her flails until they clamped to her wrist manacles to form boxing gloves (quite a neat feature, I must admit) and charged in to exact some vengeance. I don't blame her, nearly being a magician's trick gone wrong had me reaching for my backup blade to try my own hand at sawing someone in half-

"STEVE!"

Who said- _above_!?

Oh, _that's_ how he managed to literally get the drop on us.

Another one of our competitors was floating a good fifteen feet in the air above: a rather well-stacked (not that I was looking at that particular area…) girl with heterochromatic eyes, thigh-length braided white hair wearing a brown leather bracer on her left forearm and a black hard-light projector glove with a cyan circle on the back of her hand connected to blue channel lines leading to her fingertips, a red sleeveless top and a pair of loose navy-blue trousers. I couldn't see any black aura distortions around any part of her body, so she wasn't using gravity Dust. Must be her semblance. She drew back the holographic bowstring of the asymmetric recurve bow longer than she was tall and let loose a volley of hard-light arrows that swept across the field.

It was a good thing she shouted out her partner's name a few seconds ago, or we'd never see the attack coming. Silvia hastily scrabbled backwards into a roll to avoid becoming a pincushion. Regina raised her weapon, keeping one foot planted on Steve as he channelled his aura to guard against friendly fire. And surprisingly enough for one as stout as she, Regina managed to block or deflect the arrows with a few deft swings. Nat was far enough away that all she had to do was walk backwards a couple of paces. Whereas I, right at the end of the queue, put another product of my aura training to good use: The Art of Quickening. Tense your body. Channel your aura. Move. The result: you move fast enough that if anyone blinks, they think you've teleported a short distance. Really skilled huntsmen can use this art to turn a simple battle into a high-speed dance of death. Despite having a head start in aura use due to my brush with death 15 years prior, I was nowhere near that skilled. So I had to get creative. A pinch of gravity dust here and there, and I was airborne right in front of our archer friend, gun trained on her head.

"What the-!?" She exclaimed, clearly not expecting anything but Nevermores to challenge her air superiority.

Despite the moment of shock, she aimed her bow, a yumi, if I'm not mistaken, and prepared to draw back the "string". But I was quicker on the draw (once again, no pun intended). One bullet to the palm sent her hand flying back and before she could recover, I surged forwards, planted my feet in her midriff and used the Dust in my shoes to send her flying into a tree at the edge of the clearing as I kicked out. Her back hit the trunk, forcing the archer to lose the focus needed to stay airborne and fell to the ground in a heap when normal gravity took the reins once again.

"DAMN IT, ERIN!" Our friend bellowed beneath me. Not the most empathetic way to show concern for your partner- ooh boy.

His navy-blue aura was gradually turning violet with the same effect as drops of ink diluting in water. The glow quickly intensified and Regina took notice and made a hasty retreat. With a roar as he hauled himself up on his knees, arms thrust wide, the violet glow violently (still no pun intended) erupted into a sphere four or five metres across with Steve in the middle, the outside covered with rapidly moving teeth like a chainsaw's business end. Poor Regina didn't make it out of the radius without getting shredded and sent flying: she went one way, her weapon went another.

My body moved before my brain could issue the order. Altering gravity so I fell quickly toward her, I thrust my right arm out, the sleeve's pattern appearing instantly as I made a claw motion and pulled my arm back. That stopped her momentum from sending her slamming head-first into the temple wall. Touching down a few seconds later, I lowered her to the ground and supported her back as best I could. Props to my science teacher; she wasn't kidding when she taught me that having big muscles made you heavier.

"You okay, partner?" I asked as she regained enough feeling to open her eyes.

"Not… really." She replied through gritted teeth. "That took out a big chunk of my aura. I will need a moment before I can stand again."

I glanced back towards the angry shark faunus and was relieved to see that Regina was going to get that moment she asked for. Silvia and Nat waited until the serrated shield Steve conjured up to dissipate before charging in. Silvia slammed her left "boxing glove" into Steve's gut while Nat reared her right leg back, crackling with electricity as she activated one of her internal bolt Dust injectors and delivered vicious kick to his face. The combined force sent him flying backwards. He hit the ground, tumbling end-over-end until he came to a stop near his downed partner. I recalled what she said yesterday; "a bit" of extra power!? Talk about a massive understatement if that's the kick she got out of- Gah! More unintended puns. I'm gonna turn into a male Yang at this rate…

Anyhow, with them in a daze, I used my Dust to pull over Regina's weapon and hand it over to her. She activated an aura-triggered mechanism, lengthening the stock and folding away the pistol grip so it was more like an actual bardiche, so she could support herself as she stood back up and walked unsteadily forwards. I kept close to her as we walked to join the others, checking my gun's last mag- three rounds, by the way- before pointing it back towards the two aggressors as they hauled themselves off the floor while exchanging biting comments.

"You okay, big girl?" Nat asked, not taking her eyes or revolvers off her targets.

"It was a lot more painful than I expected, but I'll manage." Regina replied, a lot less painfully than before.

"That's good news." Silvia shared a warm smile with her. "But it looks like we can all take it easy now. They're a lot more beat up than us and we outnumber them two-to-one. We've got this in the bag."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that if I were you." An unfamiliar female Atlesian voice announced.

…Why, oh why, did she have to say that?

Right on cue, walking out of the forest behind Erin and Steve were four more our fellow initiates, some of whom I recognised from my time at Signal. Every one of them had their weapons drawn and trained on us. Plus, they were looking just as ticked off as their buddies up front.

"You're not going anywhere without handing over the relics." The same girl followed up. She had dark grey eyes with salt-and-pepper hair, dressed in white and black combat fatigues with army boots and light chest, elbow and knee armour, wielding a gun resembling a pepperbox rifle.

"Um…" Our faunus friend shrank back with her ears drooping when it was her turn to be pinned with three unamused stares. "Well, maybe it's not going to be easy as I-"

"Silvia." Nat growled as she turned back to our rivals. "Please do us all a favour and stop talking."

 **l-|-|-l**

"And here we are once again," Ozpin remarked as he watched this scene unfold, "the most interesting part of initiation: the conflict between the last participants."

"And often the most gruesome." Glynda narrowed her eyes at the screen as she zoomed in on the shark-toothed faunus at the head of the angry mob of potential dropouts. "Given how Mister Bluefin has been charging through the forest in a blind rage since he landed, attracting almost every Grimm around. It looks like things will be very heated indeed."

"The shortcomings of a bad temper on top of our usual challenge." Ozpin noted grimly. "Young Steve and Miss De Quincy would probably be a lot more cordial if I didn't impose a time limit. As would all the other last groups we've sent out over the years, for that matter. But we simply cannot accept everyone who walks through our doors. If they can't handle a challenge like this, then they certainly won't be able to handle four years at Beacon."

Glynda simply nodded, that fact being drilled into her head ever since she signed up as a teacher.

" _Don't try an' play dumb with us!"_ The teachers turned back to the feed as the shark faunus shouted as he pointed his right pata at the opposing group of four. _"We've been stuck in this damn forest for ages and saw two others that ain't you! There's no way you don't have the last relics!"_

" _Oh great, a smart meathead."_ Nat muttered as she rolled her eyes when it was clear her recently attempted bluff failed. _"And why should we hand them over to you? In case you didn't notice, Professor Ozpin said this was a race. We beat you, so why should we hand over_ our _trophies? I mean, it's not like there aren't any other opportunities to further your training."_

" _True."_ replied the Atlesian girl in black and white named Pepper Mills. _"But we'd either have to go to a lesser academy or pay for apprenticeships out of our own pockets. While anyone who gets into Beacon will not only have the best training, but their monthly equipment expenses will get covered by the Council. You think we'll just give up an opportunity like that?"_

" _I don't care 'bout all that, but you heard it! We ain't gonna stop!"_ Steve's point was emphasised by grinding both chainsaw blades against each other. _"There's no way I'm lettin' you take this chance away from me after all the time and effort it took for me to get here!"_

"He'll ruin the teeth if he keeps doing that…" Glynda shook her head at Steve's poor treatment of his own weaponry.

" _So what?"_ Isaac deadpanned, drawing all attention to him.

"… _Wanna run that by me again, four-eyes!?"_

" _You heard me the first time,_ _Shark-face_ _."_ Isaac walked in front of his three companions, subtly angling himself to discreetly draw his backup holo-blade while checking the temperature of the one cooling at his hip as narrowed his eyes at Steve. Given how he didn't unhook it or attempt to load new cartridges, the observing teachers concluded that it was still too hot to use safely. _"So. What. You're not the only one who spent years studying to become a huntsman. And to be brutally honest, I don't care about your sob stories. Your reasons don't make you any more entitled than the rest of us."_

" _Shut up!"_ Steve shot back, hunching low and swinging his arms wide while revving both of his chainsaws. Erin had to leap sideways to avoid getting sliced while everyone behind him wisely gave him a wide berth. _"I'm not backin' down until I've got what I'm after, so stow the selfish attitude-"_

" _*cough*Hypocrite*cough*."_ Ozpin smirked at Silvia's not-so-subtle observation.

" _-an' hand over those relics before I get_ real _nasty!"_

Isaac made a show of tapping his foot on the ground while stroking chin as though he were in deep thought. _"Well… As much as I would like to, there is… ooh, an ever-so-small problem that you lot haven't considered."_

" _An' that is…?"_

" _Quite simple, if you do the maths. There's only two relics left. If we hand them over or you take them after beating us up, then what? Only four of you six can pass. Do you see the problem yet, or do I need to commandeer one of the lecture halls back at Beacon?"_

And with that left hanging in the air, all activity from the opposing side ceased as the penny finally dropped. Steve stopped angrily revving his weapons and froze, the blades and handguards of his patas folded away to expose his hands as he slowly turned to face the small company behind him as they all downed arms and looked to him.

"Well, this hasn't happened for a long time." Ozpin commented. "They actually managed to get into an argument about who gets to keep the last relics _before_ they actually managed to get their hands on them."

"Not that it changes much in the long run." Glynda pointed out as she zoomed in on the bickering huddle while lowering the volume. "Like the other groups who came to blows, they are too caught up with their petty squabble to remember that the Grimm are attracted to negative emotions. By the time they realise this, everyone will be fending off a massive horde."

"Normally, I'd agree with you. But given how many of the Grimm have been exterminated so far, I'd say that the ensuing horde wouldn't be as large as the others on record. Plus, if the last two relic-bearing pairs manage to make it to the cliff, then the situation will be resolved pretty quickly."

"If they get that far in the first place. I doubt the runners-up will allow them to get that far away once they stop arguing amongst themselves."

"Well then, it's a good thing that they have a head start."

"They what!?" Glynda zoomed the camera out from the bickering huntsmen-in-training. The space that was previously occupied by Isaac and Silvia's pairs was surprisingly empty. "When did they…?"

"Oh, they left a few seconds ago. It goes to show that if you focus too much on one thing, then you're in danger of missing everything else going on around you." Ozpin explained as he went to take a sip of his cocoa, but stopped short with a look of disappointment on his face when he realised that the mug has long since been drained to the dregs. "A lesson that we all need to be reminded of, it seems…"

 **l-|-|-l**

Regina was certainly not expecting the plan Isaac came up with to work so well. It was a rather simple one at that: buy enough time for her to recover enough from Steve's shredding shield, get them squabbling amongst themselves, calmly walk away and then, when they were out of sight, run like the wind. No need to be stealthy or employ elaborate distractions, just wait ten or so seconds for them to get into it and leave while they were otherwise engaged. It seemed like a rather ridiculous notion for them to simply walk away unnoticed, given how loudly the four of them were dressed. But as it turns out, they weren't spotted by their angry rivals at all.

"I can't believe that worked." Nat commented as they jogged along, adjusting the flower tucked behind her ear so it was more comfortable in its perch.

"You are not the only one!" Regina concurred after deciding that they had gone far enough for her to speak up. "I was certain that they would have noticed us as we made our escape!"

"Eh, give it a minute or two." Her partner advised. "They'll notice that we're gone eventually, so let's make it to the cliff before they catch up."

Right now, they were two thirds of the way along another area of the ruins. Rows of columns and arches flanking either side of a formerly paved concourse with sparse patches of grass. It could've been an agora or courtyard leading to an important area of the fallen civilisation that once inhabited these woods. But now, it was nothing more than a decrepit shadow of its former self. Serving as nothing more than background decoration.

As they raced across the open gap, the group could see that they were only the latest of many to have made their way through these ruins in order to make their escape from the Grimm. Multiple holes of equal sizes dotted the ground where a barrage of sharp spear-like objects left their mark. Torn-down trees and tracks an equal distance apart from each other hinted at something big which tore its way through the woods and across the clearing. Spent shell casings, scorch marks and gouges peppered the landscape where the other initiates fought back against the Grimm. There were even structures formed from Dust, such as stone barricades and multiple ice spikes of different sizes that were melting in the noonday sun. Heck, there was even a discarded cross spear on the ground with a little bit of dried blood on the hilt.

And there, enshrouded in rising mist and the vapour rising form the melted ice at the end of the road, stood the cliff. Their goal. If they made it to the top using the platforms another initiate kindly made out of Dust and circled around back to the starting point, then the ordeal would finally be over… Or it would be, if the impressive grey stone structure that once stood elevated from the obscured depths of the gorge wasn't smashed beyond recognition. The only things intact were a battered circular platform littered with stone blocks and an elevated tiered bridge at least thirty feet up from the platform. The bridge that lead to the main body of the tower from their side was missing, nothing more than a couple of supports jutting up from the mist way below remained.

"…Well, so much for this plan." Was all Silvia could say.

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Nat muttered as she evaluated their shattered escape route. "So, what do we do now? I can make across the pillars with a running start, no problem. But they're too far apart for you to follow me across."

Regina collapsed Stolz, her weapon, back into shotgun mode and planted the butt on the ground as a support as she crouched down off to the side of where the bridge once was to take a closer look. "Even if they were closer together, I certainly would not want to take that chance. Especially given what would happen should we miss a step…"

"Ditto." Silvia agreed. "So, unless anyone has a bridge-building semblance, what exactly can we do now?"

"Oh, that's simple." Isaac answered as he casually leaned against a nearby pillar. "We dig in and wait for our 'pals' to show up."

There was a brief moment of silence as the three girls turned towards him with looks that all but questioned his sanity.

"You can't seriously expect us to fight them off!" Silvia protested. "Sure, we got those two on the ropes despite Reggie taking a big hit-"

"DO NOT CALL ME REGGIE!"

"…But now there's six of them!" She continued without giving much regard for her annoyed ally. "Possibly eight if the other two turn up at some point. Digging in won't help if we don't know their semblances and equipment!"

Isaac quizzically cocked his head. "Who said anything about fighting them?"

"YOU DI-! …wait, what?" And just like that, her train of thought was derailed.

"Everything you said about them outnumbering us was absolutely correct." He continued, to the girls' increasing confusion. "We don't stand a chance _against_ them, so we're going to use the barricades the last people who came through here kindly set up and _help_ them escape the forest."

"Why would we-"

"Ah! I understand!" Regina exclaimed, loudly snapping her fingers once the penny dropped. "Since I have the weapon with the longest range, I will provide covering fire. Isaac will use his gravity Dust to help people across the gap, while you two provide support once the Grimm start closing in."

"…Grimm?" Silvia asked, still lost.

"Yes, the Grimm! Did you two not notice how heated our competitors' argument was becoming? How… _negative_ they were being?"

No more words needed to be said. Both the faunus girl and cyborg amputee finally caught up with the situation at hand. Isaac's declaration made much more sense now thanks to Regina breaking it down for them.

"HEEEEEEY! WAIT UP!"

Oh, and some of the aforementioned group waving their arms in panic as they hastily fled across the ruined agora from the Grimm, whose angry roars and thundering footsteps could be heard in the distance alongside frantic gunfire, may have had something to do with it as well.

Nat sighed and drew Hinnamatoom in gun form, taking a moment to make sure both revolver chambers were loaded. "There's no way we're handing over our relics in exchange for this."

"They weren't get them anyway." Isaac answered before cupping his hands over his mouth and shouting towards the others. "HEY THERE! ENJOYING YOUR LITTLE HIKE?"

"SCREW YOU, FOUR-EYES!" Erin glanced over her shoulder to shout back as she loosed another volley through the trees.

And with that, he removed his hands with a chuckle and a slight nod before making sure his nearly empty gun and the backup holo-sword were in proper working order. "I think she likes me."

The girls gave him another odd look, not sure just how sarcastic he was being, before taking their positions: Isaac stayed put. Regina took cover behind a stone barricade, using it as a support as she aimed Stolz towards the treeline. Nat and Silvia, weapons at the ready, charged out to intercept the Grimm.

Ahead of the pack were two male huntsmen-in-training, one with orange and grey clothing who had a pair of tonfa sheathed on his belt, the other wore jeans, boots and a sleeveless black coat with a yellow chevron pattern and a war hammer that could extend to form a Lucerne polearm in hand. Both of them also had a yellow bandana tied around their left arms, for some reason. Steve was directly behind them, followed by Erin and Pepper who took potshots at the just out-of-sight Grimm as they swiftly backpedalled.

A few seconds passed before the final huntress bringing up the rear came into view. Or rather, she was _thrown_ into view by an Ursa Major. A muscular young woman wielding a flamberge two-handed sword with wavy crimson hair wearing red-tinted wraparound shades and a set of red-accented black plate armour covering everything but her upper arms and head. The Major went to pounce on the prone huntress, but ended up decapitated by a quick one-handed swing of her heated blade. She didn't have any time to relax, however, as the Beowolves surged out of the forest, forcing the redhead to push herself up and run.

With a clear target in sight, Regina opened fire. She snapped off shot after shot like clockwork: fire, rack, repeat. Each 10-gauge hunting slug hit home. Granted, the sheer volume of Grimm that were charging out of the forest meant that missing her mark would've ruined the day of another. But thanks to the stability provided by the flat top of her cover, there was little to no chance of her shots going wild. The real problem was people who made better doors than windows. The armoured redhead suddenly materialising further ahead of the Grimm in a flash of crimson, probably the work of a short-ranged teleport semblance, which caused Regina to grit her teeth and aim a little more to the left where an Ursa barged its way in front of its wolf-like brethren. And once she shot that one in the head and aimed at another one further back, Nat dashed into view.

Regina bit back a curse, her trigger finger freezing as she waited for her cyborg pal to arc around the two shooters and the armoured girl and make a beeline towards the girl, blasting Grimm as she went. After downing a couple more Grimm changing course to intercept Nat, she took the opportunity to reload after dropping four more, keeping an eye on Nat and Silvia as they kept the Grimm at bay. The armoured girl was on her knees, desperately gasping for breath while using her sword as a support.

" _Hmm, her aura must be depleted by now."_ She thought as she slid the last few shells into her shotgun. _"Or can she not use her semblance in rapid succession? Either way, this isn't going to be easy."_

With a rack of the slide, Regina was back in action. By now, the three boys ahead of the group had made it to the edge of the cliff. While her focus was on the rapidly advancing tide of Grimm, she kept an ear out on their conversation with Isaac. Just in case they were stupid enough to pull a fast one in a situation as dire as this.

"Mark, Ricky." Isaac casually greeted them. "How's your day been?"

"HOW DO YOU THINK!?" Angrily replied a gruff voice, which surprisingly belonged to the lithe boy in orange after Regina glanced back.

"Yeesh, Mark. No need to shout, I'm standing right here."

"Oh, I am sooooo sorry." Ricky, the one in yellow, continued no less angry than his partner. "But we've been in this stupid forest for what seems like hours, we don't have any relics which means we won't be able to get into school with our beloved Yang, and we're up to our foreheads in Grimm. Does that sound okay or do we need to paint a friggin' picture for you!?"

"Alright, alright. A simple 'no' would've been enough, ya rabid fanboys." Isaac's blasé response had them both growling and sputtering in frustration.

"Knock it off, four eyes!" Steve bellowed as he angrily shoved his way past Isaac's fellow Signal graduates. "Why the hell are ya even here!?"

"What, you didn't think we'd just leave you here to be ripped apart, did you?"

" _Tempting though the idea is."_ Regina mentally scoffed as she plugged another Ursa between the eyes.

"The plan is simple:" continued Isaac, "I chuck you over the gap, we get up the cliff and out of the forest. Anyone with a long-range weapon like Reggi… Regina-"

" _I'll let that one slide."_

"-will be covering our backs. Mark, Ricky, remind me again: do either of you have any long range options?"

"No." Mark replied, holding up one of his tonfas. "This fires buckshot."

"And you know full well I hate guns!" His yellow friend added.

"Okay then, you three don't need to stick around. Group up and I'll throw you over together."

Since she needed to reload again and Pepper and Erin had made it to the barricade, Regina took the opportunity to brief them of the plan. Erin used her semblance to fly to the top of a pillar as a vantage point while Pepper took cover behind the stone barricade across from Regina. Looking back at her partner, his two "old friends" glowered at him, but reluctantly nodded. They knew better than to pass up the only ticket out of here. Steve, on the other hand…

"Fine. But I want your relic in exchange."

"Not a chance." Isaac replied instantly, dropping the wry smile he was sporting before the shark faunus spoke. "We're saving your lives out of the goodness of our own hearts. You don't _get_ to demand anything more."

"An' maybe you don't understand-" Steve walked forwards and prodded Isaac in the chest with his finger. "I _am_ getting' into Beacon no matter what."

"Seriously, Steve!?" Erin shouted down at her partner while injecting a vial of hard-light Dust into her glove.

"An' nothing." He ignored her as he spat out each word in a low growl. " _Nothing_. Is gonna stop me. So you better pony up afterwards, Goldie, if you know wha-"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence when Isaac's hands shot out, each grabbing a fistful of hair and bringing Steve's head down into his armoured knee. It collided hard with his forehead, stunning the faunus. After that, Isaac followed up with a DDT that flung him head-first into the ground, knocking what little sense he had out of him. Isaac then raised both arms, open palms facing upwards as the black pattern emerged on his sleeves. Steve rose as the effect gravity took on him was changed, before he suddenly shot forwards as Isaac made a sudden pushing motion with both arms, sending the hapless faunus rapidly arcing over the gap and slamming into the pillar supporting the upper walkway. He fell to the deck and didn't make any visible movements from their end of the gorge.

Everyone who witnessed this was stunned into silence, surprised to see a sudden change of mood in the formerly affable bespectacled boy. Even Regina, who knew that she should snap out of it and continue to lay down covering fire, was too shocked by her partner's actions to move. A few uncomfortable second later, Isaac turned around and regarded everyone. To their surprise and terror, the humour that had all but drained from his face was back as though he flipped a switch. "Oh dear, poor Steve had an accident. Would you two mind going over and making sure he's alright?"

Not waiting for a response, he used his gravity Dust to lift up and throw Mark and Ricky over the gap. Even though both of them were desperately protesting and scared out of their minds, their trip across the gap was a lot more gentle and controlled, and their landing on a pile of blocks was a lot smoother than Steve's collision course. Not like that was saying much…

Snapping out of her shock, Regina wheeled back around to continue laying down covering fire. The subject of her partner's rapid mood swings could wait. As she returned her eyes to the field, she could see that Pepper, Erin, Silvia and Nat did an excellent job of thinning out the Grimm. There was so much black vapour from the dissipating bodies that it was obscuring the treeline behind them. But impressive though it was, this was a big detriment. Thanks to the black veil, the equally black creatures' outlines were blurred. Only their white masks, armour plating and claws could be picked out from the smoke.

Regina took her time shooting any Grimm that she could pick out from the mist. Even though Silvia was out of the fight by supporting the exhausted redhead as she sluggishly made her way across the courtyard, leaving Nat to swiftly slice up the occasional Ursa when it poked its head out, there were a lot less Grimm charging into the fray than expected. In fact, it seemed more like they were hanging back and using their comrades' evaporating bodies as cover.

" _Strange…"_ Regina mused. _"Grimm are not normally this smart. It's almost as though they're being direct… ed…"_

Eyes wide from her realisation, she hastily turned to the group's archer. "Erin! Do you see an Alpha anywhere?"

"…Nope. Nothing but the usual varieties and two Ursa Majors." She replied after scanning through the gaps in the vapour. "They must be directing them."

"Can't be." Pepper pointed out as she carefully picked her shots. "Unlike Alpha Beowolves, Majors are only bigger and tougher. Even though they hit harder and are a pain to kill, they're just as dumb as the regulars- damn, I'm out." She cursed after reaching for her now empty ammo reserves. After holstering her rifle, she walked up to Isaac. "Chuck me over. I'm out of ranged options."

"Room for one more?"

Pepper snapped around, finally noticing that Silvia and the redhead made it over to them. Nat had also returned and took Pepper's place as fire support alongside Regina. "Ignis!" She exclaimed as she darted over to her exhausted partner, taking her out of Silvia's arms. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here."

"…Hey Pepper." The girl in question weakly gasped out. "I wouldn't be out of aura by now if I had a better landing strategy… Sorry for being a burden…"

"No, don't say that. I don't blame you for-"

"We don't have time for this." Interrupted Isaac, ignoring the glare he was getting from the monochrome gunner. "I'll send you both over now. You can talk as much as you want while you're waiting for the rest of us."

With a motion for Silvia to stand back, he wasted no time in activating his Dust and raising them off the ground, sending them "falling" across the gap. Everything was going smoothly. They were halfway across, nobody was still in the immediate danger zone-

"LOOK OUT!"

And then Regina noticed something flying fast out of the black vapour. She darted out of cover and batted away a football-sized chunk of rock that would've nailed Isaac in the back of the head using the flat of Stolz' blade. And that was only the first of many projectiles that came raining down on their position. Rocks, bits of ice from the Dust-generated structures and even bullet casings were all sent flying by the Beowolves as they darted in and out of the black mist, not giving much of an opportunity to be shot in retaliation. Silvia helped Regina defend the vulnerable Isaac by deflecting the projectiles with Romulus and Remus, while Nat had to take cover between potshots and Erin had to fly out of reach to avoid being hit as she continued to blindly rain volleys of arrows down on the Grimm.

But despite their best efforts, a rock made it through and struck Isaac on the back of the leg. He gasped in pain as his leg buckled and he lost concentration, dropping Pepper and Ignis sooner than he liked on the damaged part of the walkway. It promptly crumbled beneath them when they landed. Fortunately, Ricky and Mark were there to catch them. They grabbed onto Pepper, trying to help her up while she desperately clung to the much heavier Ignis. Sucking in air through clenched teeth, Isaac extended his arm to see if he could make Ignis fall slowly upwards and out of harm's way-

"GYAAAAAAH!"

When a shriek from Erin broke his concentration. Regina's head snapped over to the archer and, to her shock, found a juvenile Taijitu wrapped around her throat, both heads attempting to bite through her aura and into her face. And to make matters worse, she was in the process of flying away from a volley of rocks chucked by the Beowolves. The shock made her drop her yumi and broke her concentration, sending her plummeting over the edge of the cliff.

"I got her!" Silvia exclaimed, throwing out Romulus in an arc. The chain extended, wrapping around Erin's midsection before the flail looped over the taught chain, holding her secure as she swung into the cliff.

As she struggled to pull the distressed girl up, Regina noticed Isaac dash in front of her and swing his blade, vertically bisecting another Taijitu as it sailed towards her, mouth open. Both halves landed either side of her.

"Oh come on, they're throwing snakes us as too!?" Nat complained as she flipped her weapons around to wield them as axes when more juveniles hurtled towards them.

"I knew it, it was a distraction!" Regina cursed as she tried to pick off a couple of Beowolves before they chucked more junk their way.

"Yeah, we guessed!" Isaac spat as he intercepted a few more juveniles sailing towards them. "Regina, help Silvia get Erin up before-"

 **GRAAAAAAH!**

All movement from the initiates died as every eye snapped to the Grimm. The black smoke had long since dissipated, revealing only twenty regular Beowolves left holding fistfuls of projectiles. Joining them were the two Ursa Majors Erin pointed out, dozens of juvenile Taijitus slithering around their legs and the source of that inhuman growl: a Beowolf Alpha with chipped bone armour, a black coat that appeared to have a darker sheen and a veiny mass of black and white snakes coiled around a larger Taijitu where the Alpha's arm should've been. In its right hand was the aforementioned spear, which looked as big as a fireplace poker in comparison to its wielder. The Alpha raised its snake arm up. Every head hissed as they coiled back, ready to strike when it charged.

"…call my therapist." Isaac finally said, his voice devoid of all emotion. "Tell him he's a rich man."

"Gladly." Regina answered after mustering the will to speak. "Right after I book a few appointments of my own."

 **l-|-|-l**

 _ **Author's Note**_

New chapter, new terminology. "The Art of Quickening" which I shamelessly stole- uh, I mean… borrowed from Bloodborne is what I'm using for the flash-step technique used by various characters, mostly by Blake, Weiss and Tyrian (Ruby doesn't count 'cause she's probably using her Semblance). "Slicer" is a bit less fancy than most terms for sword beams, but it's a lot less sucky than "Aura Slash" from an earlier draft of mine. And hey, it's better than using the standard names for those moves that TV Tropes uses.

Also, the possession-type Grimm from the Shirow Miwa manga makes a guest appearance here, rechristened as a Plagas Grimm. Anyone who played Resident Evil 4 will know why I chose that name. As for the Taijitu, I decided to apply playing card names to them: Jack, Queen and King for their various stages of development.

As for the rivals, I shamelessly copied- that is, based Steve on Giriko from Soul Eater and Erin on Erin Yakokoro from Touhou. The rest were the product of my deranged mind. Yang's fanclub also made an appearance, even though it was in a somewhat limited capacity this chapter.

After my lengthy rant last chapter, I'm gonna keep my ANs briefer to avoid bumping up the word count too much.

Welp, that's it for now. See ya next time!


End file.
